Maada Bio and Sierra Leone's Financing of Transnational Repression and Propaganda...

[saloneamadu]

Maada Bio and Sierra Leone's Financing of Transnational Repression and Propaganda...

By Chernoh  Alpha M. Bah, PhD

Documents obtained by Africanist Press, including financial transactions and records of foreign agent registrations, reveal that the Maada Bio regime continues to depend on foreign cyber and communication agents, particularly from Nigeria and the United States to facilitate both domestic and international communications, and conduct transnational repression against Sierra Leoneans, both in the United States and abroad. The findings also indicate that the Bio regime is misusing public funds for international repression and an ineffective propaganda campaign aimed at obscuring its economic failures and human rights violations.

The list of foreign agents now includes Weintraub Communications LLC, operated by Jeffrey R. Weintraub. An email submitted to the United States Department of Justice highlights the regime’s ongoing reliance on these foreign cyber and communication agents for its transnational operations. The email, originating from the Information Ministry, requests that Jeffrey Weintraub review the terms of a contract signed in September 2024. On the surface, this contract involves not only covert operations but also "overt opportunities in innovation and technology."

Weitntraub was tasked to work with a Nigerian-owned company called Prunedge SL Limited, founded by Joel Ogunsola. Their role includes advising GoSL representatives on the U.S. media landscape, identifying opportunities and challenges in communicating Sierra Leone's activities, policies, and leadership.

According to the agreement, Weintraub will supposedly "solicit and coordinate leading U.S. journalists" to publish op-eds and conduct interviews with Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) leaders, as well as arrange speaking opportunities for GoSL representatives at relevant U.S. organizations, forums, and stakeholder events.

In correspondence dated August 7, 2024, the Minister of Information for Bio's regime stated that the goal is to "make a big splash" by showcasing "appetite and willingness to embrace and leverage innovation" as a foundation for Sierra Leone's development. The minister urged Weintraub to portray the president and the minister as champions of this initiative in the media and at events.

While foreign agent registration documents indicate that Weintraub was allegedly hired in August 2024, evidence gathered by Africanist Press suggests that his involvement with the Bio regime's transnational campaigns dates back to at least April 2021. This is the same period when the Bio regime contracted former U.S. Green Beret Jerry Torres and the Mercury Firm to launch an international cybersecurity operation targeting democratic critics of the regime in the United States, raising substantial concerns about possible violations of U.S. foreign agents registration rules.

In Sierra Leone, however, the involvement of foreign agents to coordinate, manage, and implement the Bio regime's transnational repression and propaganda campaigns remains secretive. The contracts for engaging these agents have not been made public or subjected to the required tendering processes mandated by Sierra Leone’s procurement laws and regulations.

Beyond the legal and human rights violations arising from such secret arrangements, the hiring of foreign agents to assist the Bio regime underlines several critical points.

Firstly, it indicates that the Maada Bio regime lacks local communication expertise. Its strategic communication staff—including the ministries of information and communication—has had to rely on foreign agents from Nigeria and the United States, contracted secretly, to manage national and international outreach, which has also proven largely ineffective.

Most importantly, the clandestine involvement of U.S.-based Nigerians and other foreign agents in Bio's transnational repression and propaganda campaign presents a significant risk of fostering anti-U.S. sentiments in Sierra Leone. This is particularly concerning given that the corruption and human rights violations of the Bio regime are adversely impacting the lives of most ordinary citizens.

Stay tuned for our upcoming report on the role of foreign agents, primarily from Nigeria and U.S. contractors, in the Bio regime's repression and propaganda efforts.

#NoDistraction #NoCompromise #NoSurrender

——

Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device