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Chernoh Alpha M. Bah (born March 28, 1979) is a Sierra Leonean journalist and historian. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University in the Program of African Studies within the Department of History.[1] Bah is editor-in-chief at the Africanist Press, a grassroots organization promoting civil engagement and the protection of democratic processes.[2] As a result of his whistleblowing, political activism, and anti-corruption reporting, he is in exile in the United States.
Early life and education
editBah was born in Makeni on March 28, 1979 where he attended St. Francis Secondary School. He later graduated from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone with a bachelor's degree in history and sociology with a diploma in African studies.[3][4] He received his doctorate from Northwestern University in 2023.[5]
Career
editAs a teen in 1995, Bah helped form and lead the Pan-African Movement for Human Rights and Democratic Development. Two years later, he assisted in creating the Awareness Movement.[6] Both advocated for the civil and democratic rights of people in Sierra Leone. As a result, he was exiled and fled to Guinea where he founded the Young Writers Association in 1999.[4]
In 2001, Bah was imprisoned in Guinea for his political activity on charges of "espionage and sedition".[7] Upon his release, he founded the Africanist Movement, working to unify Africa under a socialist ideology. In 2006, he went on a Freedom Tour around the United States, sponsored by the African People’s Socialist Party, to advocate for the principles of the Africanist Movement.[8]
In 2009, he was Director of Organization of African Socialist International, where he assisted in coordinating conferences and mobilizing the organization across Africa.[9][10]
While serving as spokesperson for the coalition between then National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and African Socialist Movement (ASM), Bah ran to represent Makeni, Constituency 28, in Sierra Leone. This bid for parliament came in November 2012 while he was Chairman of the African Socialist Movement.[3]
He has participated as editor and columnist for The Point, Concord Times, and The Democrat newspapers.[11] In addition, his research has been covered by BBC Focus on Africa[12], AfricaLink by DW[13], and Voice of Salone Network.[14]
Today, Bah specializes in medical, legal, and economic history of Western Africa with a focus in Sierra Leone. With the support of Northwestern's Chabraja Center for Historical Studies, he is the editor-in-chief at the Africanist Press.[5] He hosts the Africanist Press Podcast weekly. He has accepted a position as a postdoctoral research fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute Africa Initiative.[15] He is also a leader of the Writing for Justice Campaign which investigates and writes on human rights abuses in Africa.[16]
Controversy and criminal allegations
editDespite previous support from the African People’s Socialist Party, their primary newspaper, The Burning Spear, published a piece on May 22, 2022 explaining Bah's separation from African Socialist International (ASI). They described him as a "opportunistic and dishonest force of the highest order" who abused ASI's assistance for his own financial and political gain.[17]
Since his activism began, Sierra Leone and other West African governments have spoken out against the threat Bah poses to their regimes. In March 2021, Senior State House Lawyers of the Sierra Leonean government sued the Africanist Press and Bah after they published illegally obtained private documents. The documents revealed that First Lady Mrs. Fatima Bio received $3 millionUSD of government funds after her husband's inauguration.[18] Bah led the investigation that produced 70 reports of large-scale corruption in Sierra Leone.[5] The Bank of Sierra Leone requested immediate criminal action.[19] In 2022, the Africanist Press and Bah published an article revealing $5 millionUSD were paid to cyber intelligence groups for tools used to target political opponents of President Julius Maada Bio.[20]
On May 4, 2022, Sierra Leone's Office of National Security complained to the country's media regulator about the possibility of civil unrest instigated by Africanist Press publications.[2] Bah has received multiple death threats via social media.[21] In 2023, Bah wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about the attacked on Africanist Press.[22] In 2024, 100 academics from notable universities around the world signed a letter condemning threats and harassment against Bah.[5]
After the release of damning financial documents, Bah faced multiple legal allegations. On May 23, a Facebook group known as Trusted Blog called on authorities to charge Bah with cybercrimes.[23] On May 24, Sorie Fofana of the Sierra Leone People’s Party accused Bah and the Press of treason for releasing payroll documents about wage disparities between senior officers and members of the military.[24]
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Sierra Leonean authorities to stop the harassment of Bah.[2]
Awards and Recognition
editIn 2010, Bah was recognized as an honored guest at the West Africa Media Forum and Awards Conference in Lagos, Nigeria.[25]
Works
editBooks
edit- The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Corporate Gangsters, Multinationals, and Rogue Politicians. Philadelphia: Africanist Press 2015. ISBN 0996973923
- Neocolonialism in West Africa: A Collection of Essays and Articles. Philadelphia: Africanist Press 2017. ISBN 0996973931
References
edit- ^ "Chernoh Alpha M. Bah Archives". Committee of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
- ^ a b c "Sierra Leone publisher Chernoh Alpha Bah threatened with death, charges of treason". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b "Chernoh Alpha M Bah". africansocialistmovement. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b "Chernoh Alpha M Bah". www.giraffe.org. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b c d "Academics Condemn Attacks on Sierra Leone's Endangered Historian and Journalist - The Point". thepoint.gm. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Vanguard, The Patriotic (2009-04-16). "Chernor Bah stopped in Tanzania". The Patriotic Vanguard. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Guest to talk of diamonds and disaster". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Chernoh Alpha M. Bah ends successful U.S. tour". The Burning Spear. 2006-03-31. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Chernor Bah stopped in Tanzania". The Patriotic Vanguard. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "African People's Socialist Party 5th Congress - Political Report - The African Socialist International is growing in Africa". asiuhuru.org. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Chernor Bah stopped in Tanzania". The Patriotic Vanguard. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "BBC World Service - Focus on Africa". BBC. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "AfricaLink on Air - 23 February 2021 – DW – 02/23/2021". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ VOS Network (2021-05-05). Alpha Chernor Bah on FM 94.1 KPFA. Retrieved 2024-08-22 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Africanist Press Editor to join Brown University's Watson Institute". AFRICANIST PRESS. 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Our Team". Write For Justice Campaign. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "The struggle against Chernoh Alpha M. Bah: Build the African Socialist International and revolutionary African Internationalism!". The Burning Spear. 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "State House Lawyers Sue Chernoh, Africanist Press". AYV News. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ Bank of Sierra Leone (April 20, 2021). "RE: CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST CHERNOH A.M. BAH AND AFRICANIST PRESS - BRIEFING". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Hired Surveillance: Sierra Leone officials pay cyber intel groups to target journalists, political opponents". AFRICANIST PRESS. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Oldfield, Jackson (2022-07-18). "Statement in support of Sierra-Leone journalist Chernoh Bah". CiFAR. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ Bah, Chernoh Alpha M. (August 21, 2023). "Attacks on Africanist Press and threats to Press Freedom in Sierra Leone" (PDF). Africanist Press.
- ^ Trusted Blog (May 23, 2023). "CONCERN OVER THE ACTIVITIES OF AFRICANIST PRESS". m.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ Fofana, Sorie. "Africanist Press... . Stop Inciting Soldiers". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "African People's Socialist Party leader Chernoh Alpha M. Bah receives journalism award in Nigeria during West Africa tour". The Burning Spear. 2010-02-20. Retrieved 2024-04-12.