By: Benedict AbuBakarr Conteh
Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL) yesterday 17th September 2025 held a press briefing at its Secretariat on Victoria Street, Freetown, where journalist Umu Thoronka announced that she has decided to take her case against the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) to the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
Thoronka, who worked at SLBC Makeni for more than a decade, said she was unlawfully dismissed in July 2024 after posting a TikTok video showing a citizen questioning President Julius Maada Bio about the rising cost of living during a town hall meeting.
According to her, the dismissal came in the form of a phone call from her station manager without a termination letter. SLBC later denied that she was still an employee.
“I was punished for refusing sexual advances and then fired for exercising my right to freedom of expression,” Thoronka told reporters. “This fight is not only for me but for every woman journalist who has been silenced, threatened, or dismissed for speaking truth to power.”
Thoronka also accused SLBC officials of sexual harassment, claiming that she was pressured to trade sex for a permanent contract and that in 2018 she survived an attempted rape by her station manager. She said her refusal to comply with such demands led to years of victimisation, including removal from programmes and verbal abuse.
She further revealed that after posting a video excerpt from the Presidential Townhall meeting on her TIKTOK page, she began receiving death threats through phone calls and social media messages, and that unknown individuals later visited her home in Makeni, forcing her to seek safety abroad.
Umu told the press that, on July 26, 2024, she received a phone call from her station manager informing her that the video she posted had offended SLBC management in Makeni and Freetown and that the manager had been directed to terminate her employment immediately.
According to Umu, she made mention of an incident in 2018 in which the SLBC station manager in Makeni invited her to a meeting at a colleague’s house and attempted to rape her. “He exposed himself and tried to force himself on me. I reported this to the Director General and my colleagues, but no disciplinary action was taken. Instead, the station manager suspended my stipend, removed me from programs, and verbally harassed me during live shows and meetings. She added, “On one occasion, he even grabbed my buttocks while I was reviewing a document in his office. Despite this, I held my head high and refused to give in.”
Her lawyer, Paul Kamara Esq., described SLBC’s actions as “manifestly unlawful” and in violation of the 1991 Constitution, labour laws, and press freedom guarantees.
“To punish her for a lawful act of expression was arbitrary, disproportionate, and chilling to press freedom itself,” Kamara said. He confirmed that a petition has already been filed at the ECOWAS Court, calling it a test case for women journalists across West Africa.
Backing the move, Ikechukwu Uzoma, Senior Attorney for Africa at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, said Thoronka’s case highlights systemic challenges faced by women in Sierra Leone’s media industry.
“This dismissal, combined with death threats and harassment, violates her rights to freedom of expression, equal protection under the law, and freedom from gender-based discrimination,” Uzoma stated.
He noted that Sierra Leone is bound by both national and international laws that guarantee press freedom and the protection of women from harassment.
WIMSAL President Eastina Taylor reaffirmed the association’s support for Thoronka and all women journalists facing intimidation.
“This case is not just about Umu,” Taylor said. “It is about every woman journalist who has suffered in silence. We cannot allow sexual harassment and political intimidation to remain entrenched in our profession. WIMSAL will continue to stand by our members and ensure their voices are heard.”
The Constitution of Sierra Leone guarantees the right to freedom of expression. In 2019, the Government of Sierra Leone declared a National Emergency on sexual violence and amended the 2012 Sexual Offences Act to strengthen penalties for rape, impose life imprisonment for sexual abuse of children, and criminalize sexual harassment and in the international stage, Sierra Leone is a State Party to The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to dignity, The International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom from discrimination; and The Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Supplementary Act on Freedom of Expression, which specifically provide for the protection of journalists in West Africa.
As Umu Thoronka’s case moves before the ECOWAS Court of Justice, it stands as a defining moment for press freedom, gender equality, and the fight against sexual harassment in Sierra Leone’s media landscape. Her pursuit of justice not only challenges institutional silence and impunity but also sends a powerful message that women journalists will no longer be intimidated into submission. The outcome of this case will test Sierra Leone’s commitment to its constitutional and international obligations and could set an important precedent for the protection of journalists across West Africa.
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