Ibrahim Foday's death may be linked to a series of articles he published on an ongoing land dispute between the towns of Grafton and Kossoh.
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 12 June 2011, Ibrahim Foday, a reporter of “The Exclusive”, a Freetown-based independent newspaper, was stabbed to death by unknown assailants in Grafton, a town in the outskirts of Freetown, where Foday lived.
The Sierra Leonean authorities have not identified any suspects or disclosed possible motives for the murder, according to a release by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ), on 13 June.
The SLAJ statement linked Foday’s death to an ongoing land dispute between Grafton and another town, Kossoh. Prior to his death the reporter had published a series of articles on the dispute that the Kossoh people were not pleased with.
Meanwhile, the leadership of SLAJ has held a series of meetings with various stakeholders including elders of the two communities, the police and government officials for the matter to be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to book.
“We urge the police to speed up investigations and bring to justice those behind this cowardly and reprehensible killing of the journalist,” said SLAJ President Umaru Fofana. He further said: “the fact that people can take the law into their own hands and kill someone else, no matter who the victim is or what could be their motive, is worrisome for our society.”
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is adding its voice to that of SLAJ in calling on the Sierra Leonean authorities to fully investigate the murder and bring all those responsible to justice.
