Global Times Newspaper in Limbo

 Is Global Times now sweeping the issue under the carpet, as it maintained in February 2018?

The National Grand Coalition (NGC) Party seems to have drawn the ire of local media after it successfully completed its Lower-Level Elections and National Delegates Conference, being the only opposition party to do.  Both the public service broadcaster, SLBC and the SLPP newspaper, Global Times have used their platforms to air the grievances and baseless allegations of the defeated candidate for the position of National Chairman and Leader, Mr Joseph Maada Kpulun, without giving the party the opportunity to challenge him, when the allegations were aired.  This would not come as a surprise to Sierra Leoneans, as both SLBC and the SLPP leaning Global Times are beholden to whims of the current government.  

 

In the exclusive interview that Global Times offered Mr Kpulun, the medium failed to ask Mr Kpulun about the rape allegations against him, which the Global Times reported on 13 February 2018.  In its article at the time, and just before the 2018 General Elections, Global Times reported the following:

NGC Chairman Arrested

The Southern Region Chairman of the opposition National Grand Coalition (NGC), Joseph Maada Kpulun was yesterday arrested in Bo for allegedly sexually penetrating a teenage school girl. The NGC big man was initially arrested on Friday but was released after a night in Police custody.

Family sources told Global Times yesterday that the NGC man allegedly repeatedly raped the fifteen-year-old school girl last year to the effect that she became “clinically emaciated”.

Upon investigation, the young girl told her mother in December last year, that the man old enough to be her grandfather deflowered her and has since had multiple sexual intercourses with him.

The girl’s mother then confronted Joseph Kpulun who is also the NGC Parliamentary candidate for Constituency 085 in Bo District.

Although, Kpulun is said to have admitted guilt, he however attempted to kill the case by immediately offering Le2,500,000 (two million, five hundred thousand Leones) to the girl’s mother and with a strong promise of shouldering every responsibility pertaining to her condition. That offer was turned down, and with the deteriorating condition of the teenage girl’s health, her mother rushed to the Police crying for justice.

However, it is alleged that the matter was swept under the carpet and the NGC Regional Chairman was let off the hook and released by the Police in Bo.

But as the victim’s condition continued to worsen, her mother again went to the Police station last Friday to seek justice for her little girl by making a fresh allegation of rape against the NGC strongman. Based on the new report, Kpulun was subsequently arrested by the Police on Friday but was again surreptitiously released the next day without being charged.

As we went to press last night, there were reports that the Local Unit Commander in Bo, Mustapha Kamara has ordered his re-arrest and was reportedly being questioned by the Family Support Unit in Bo. Kpulun could not be reached for comment.

However, during the so called exclusive interview, Global Times failed to raise this issue that it brought to the public domain in 2018, or to question why a person with those allegations which  as far as the public is aware, is unresolved, is a fit and proper person to hold the position of National Chairman and Leader of any political party in the country. Like the SLBC, any reasonable person would question the editorial integrity, impartiality, professionalism and competence of Global Times.  Brown envelope journalism is a hugely detrimental to our countries democratic strides and national advancement and unfortunately, this has been on display today by two media houses, through which Sierra Leoneans rely on for reliable news reporting.

 

See link to Global Times article of 13th February 2018.

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