Several media executives have expressed dismay in the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mawine G. Diggs, and the judicial system for ignoring the effort of the government to decriminalize speech and promote free press over the years.
Sekou Sheriff, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Voice of Liberia (VOL), who was recently sued at the Monrovia City Magisterial Court by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mawine G. Diggs, for describing her as a “clean clothes criminal”, has been undergoing a series of undue embarrassment and harassment since the inception of the case, apparently to appease the prosecutor at the detriment of the prevailing laws.
In a release issued by the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), it was noted that on a recent business trip to Ghana, Sheriff was prevented from boarding his flight by immigration officers, citing an order barring him from leaving Liberia due to a legal dispute with Commerce Minister, Mawine Diggs.
According to the release, despite seeking help from politicians and media contacts regarding his detention, Immigration Commissioner Col. Robert Buddy clarified that there was no travel restriction (Ne Exeat Republica) against Journalist Sekou V. Sheriff, allowing him to travel to Accra, Ghana.
“The dispute between Sheriff and Minister Diggs began after Sheriff’s broadcast on his widely listened-to early morning show, alleging that Diggs had sold a Liberian embassy in Belgium and was involved in moving large sums of money from Liberia to the United States, information reportedly sourced from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shared with the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL),” the PUL release stated.
“This broadcast led Minister Diggs to file various charges, including criminal cohesion, blackmailing, harassment, and disorderly conduct against Journalist Sekou V. Sheriff. Sheriff’s legal representatives responded appropriately, and the judge ordered Sheriff to report to court on every Friday of the week until the matter was resolved amicably. Sheriff complied by visiting the court on January 5, 2024, and in adherence to the magistrate’s order.
“However, Sheriff was absent at a subsequent court hearing on Tuesday, leading the magistrate to issue a second writ of arrest, despite his legal representation being present,” the release added.
Expressing frustration about the case, several media house owners said, instead of suing Sheriff for libel and slander, Minister Diggs allegedly used her portfolio to prevail over the court to issue the journalist a writ of arrest for criminal coercion, harassment, blackmailing and disorderly conduct—charges that are perceived to be cleverly made up to counter the actual charges of libel and slander, which were repealed from being criminal to civil.
They said President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in 2012 committed to the Declaration of Table Mountain. The declaration, which was adopted at the World Newspaper Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2007, called for the repeal of criminal defamation and “insult” laws across the African continent.
Also, they said in 2019 President George Manneh Weah, in an effort to promote free speech and freedom of the press, submitted the Kamara Abdullah Kamara Act of Press Freedom, amending Chapter 11 of the Penal Law of 1978 and repealing sections 11.11 on criminal libel, sedition and criminal malevolence.
The media executives say they see Minister Diggs’ action as counterproductive to the wellbeing of the media landscape and an affront to President Weah, who has continued to strive for a free press.
They warned the out-going minister not to taint her media-friendly image and the image of the CDC government at this time, appealing to her to drop the lawsuit and reconcile with Sheriff.
