Why did you decide to be a cartoonist? I actually didn’t decide to be a cartoonist. However, I just found myself doing cartoons and now I thank God I am widely regarded as one. When I was in college (Fourah Bay College) I used ordinary Bic pen to do flyers (handbills) and posters for campus clubs to advertise their social activities like jam sessions and parties. I also did banners and t-shirts for social clubs in greater Freetown and beyond in my own self-taught way. Back t

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BY YUSUF BANGURA Allieu Sesay’s analysis fails to incorporate population or registered voter shares in discussing seat allocations for the 2018 elections. Population or voter registration shares is the basic principle democracies use to allocate constituencies. Sesay’s reliance on only parliamentary seat allocation to discuss the parliamentary seat gains and losses of the APC and SLPP is grossly superficial. Democracy requires equality of voters—i.e. the vote of every voter s

By Allieu Sesay Thanks Dr. Bangura. It was a fair piece, but with a weak premise and faulty conclusion. I have done some analysis to show why. During the process of de-amalgamation, two new districts were created in the APC strongholds - Karene and Falaba. This means extra constituencies were created for the 2018 elections compared to 2012. In 2012, there were 112 constituencies, and 132 constituencies in 2018, representing an addition of 20 constituencies. Take the North (n

By Yusuf Bangura The argument that the APC has more seats than the SLPP in parliament because it created extra seats in its strongholds is totally wrong. The parliamentary seat distribution tracks fairly well the distribution of registered voters and even the distribution of actual voters in the 2018 elections. The parliamentary seat distribution is: North and North-West: 35.6%; Western Area: 21.2%; and South and East: 43.2%. The distribution of registered voters is: North an

They are parishioners, political rivals and former colleagues! The body language of Sierra Leone’s new President – Rtd Brigadier Julius Maada Bio and his opponent in the recent elections - Dr Samura Kamara has often appeared relaxed, genuine - more comradely than competitive. They really seemed to enjoy meeting up - even when things were tense. A quick look at both their biographies indicates that the two men have more in common than it would initially seem, and that the f

14-15 October 2017 – At the APC convention, Dr Samura Kamara is selected by Ernest Bai Koroma as the APC’s presidential candidate, and Mohamed Chernor Bah as running mate. 15 October 2017 – SLPP elect Brigadier (Ret.) Julius Maada Bio as the party’s 2018 Presidential Candidate 18 October 2017 – Registration of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) is completed 5 November 2017 - Francis Gabbidon Esq, publishes article entitled “Sierra Leoneans with dual citizenship cannot be mem

With a few exceptions, the Sierra Leonean election campaigns have been noticeable for their preponderance of propaganda, misinformation and disinformation. There has been some genuine information about candidates, their parties and their policies, but not enough. There is a general trend in Sierra Leone to see communications and propaganda as more or less the same thing. In addition to Insight Magazine, we at Insight Media and Communications also offer communications services

It has been a stellar couple of years for Anthony Navo Junior. His TV station’s ‘Sierra Leone Decides’ series has become compulsory pre-election viewing for Sierra Leoneans home and abroad. He pulled off a stunning media coup with the Presidential Candidates’ Debate on the 15th February. BBC Media Action has Africa Young Voices (AYV) radio down as the most listened to radio station in the North and West of Sierra Leone, and his media empire has won awards from AWOL and the

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On the 7th March 2018, Sierra Leoneans took to the polls for what they hope will be a better future. In this short video, the Insight team asks voters what they would like to see from the next Government. #Elections #voters #Video

This short video from Insight Media and Communications shows some of Wednesday's voting heroes as they wear their right to vote with pride. #Elections #2018 #voters

If I’d taken at face value the WhatsApp news on Sierra Leone in the last few days, I would have described Sierra Leone as a country monitored by a sudden and unprecedented influx of UN peacekeepers, where opposition party meetings are infiltrated by governing party spies, the work of ruling party MPs is undermined by opposition double-agents and mysterious militia men, intent on disrupting the elections on the orders of God alone knows who, are roaming the forests of Sierra L

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There was a crowd of about 20 people outside the National Electoral Commission’s (NEC) East End office this morning (Wednesday 21 February). They were all in the same position as me. Exactly 14 days to polling day and we haven’t yet picked up our voter registration cards. There are various reasons for my lapse – mainly though that I’ve been out of the country. I’d been led to understand that today is the deadline for picking them up. Now I’m not so sure. The NEC office was

Elections tend to create uncertainty about the direction of the economy. Customers, partners and government agencies enter a wait-and-see mode until after the elections, when it is clear who they will have to do business with and what the implications will be on demand, investment plans and regulation. Investors take less risk and will delay making decisions until the results are in. All legislative decision making is put on hold. This can make it difficult for businesses tha

Clear losers, but no clear winners A few images from yesterday’s Presidential Candidates’ Debate summed up for me, the significance of the event: David Fraser writing on Facebook: “I watched last night's debate in a church hall in South London attended by over 500 Sierra Leoneans.” Hussine Yilla describing Makeni last night, as a town brought to a standstill, with people crammed into Attaya Bases, or huddled around radios. Across Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, it was the so

With the aim of helping Sierra Leone’s business community understand more about the candidates’ plans for the Sierra Leonean economy and how they intend to increase economic growth and the number of jobs in the country, we are asking our readers to send in their questions so that we can feed them into the research and preparation process for the Presidential election debate. Here are just some we have received to date: Patrick Goodluck Jabati How will they make the economy

With Elections Fast Approaching, There Are Clear Signs That Sierra Leone’s Political Discourse Is Growing Up March 7 2018 is D-day for Sierra Leone’s electorate. The country will go to the polls and vote for new representatives – MPs, mayors, councillors, district council chairs and of course, a president who will determine our future for the next five years. Sierra Leone has had over a decade and a half of peace, nevertheless when we hold elections, the rest of the world sti