Counted, Connected and Heard: Sierra Leone’s Census Countdown, New Bridges for River Communities, Freetown’s Power Squeeze, and Justice Inside the Prisons

This week, Sierra Leone’s news was about people who usually wait at the edges: the household waiting to be counted, the farmer waiting for a bridge, the family waiting for the lights, and the prisoner waiting for someone to read their file. Here is what happened, as local outlets reported it, with each side’s words left in its own hands.

“Leh Den Kont You Ooh!”: fifty days to Census Night

Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL), the Ministry of Information and Civic Education and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched a 50-day countdown to the 2026 Population and Housing Census at the Miatta Civic Centre in Freetown, Sierraloaded reported on October 12. Census Night is December 1, and counting is expected to begin on December 2, in what the Sierra Leone Telegraph, in a report written by a UNFPA communications analyst, calls the country’s first fully digital enumeration. The campaign message, in Krio, is “Census 2026: Leh Den Kont You Ooh!”

Planning Minister Kenyeh Barlay asked citizens to welcome enumerators and answer accurately, and stressed reaching remote settlements and persons with disabilities. Statistician General Andrew Bob Johnny promised that answers would stay confidential. On October 14, at a training workshop for census master trainers, he said all 29,000 tablets needed for the count were in Stats SL’s custody, bought by the government rather than borrowed, according to Sierraloaded. That is Mr. Johnny’s account. At the countdown launch, Sierraloaded reported, UNFPA’s deputy country representative cited the arrival of 25,000 electronic tablets, and the Telegraph also gave 25,000; the reports do not explain the difference.

Representatives of both the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) attended the launch, the Sierra Leone Telegraph reported. At the October 14 workshop, Mr. Johnny welcomed what he called a positive shift in political parties’ attitudes toward the census, contrasting it with 2021, when, he said, people had been discouraged from welcoming census personnel into their homes. “When these people say yes, the census is okay, it gives us confidence,” he said. He added that he hoped the parties’ cooperation would continue through the count and the announcement of provisional results early next year (2027), Sierraloaded reported.

Cost is still debated. Mr. Johnny said the budget rose from an initial estimate of US$37 million to nearly US$50 million once nationwide mapping established the scale of the work, Sierraloaded reported. Other figures circulate: The Reformer reported that a technical review of the agency’s budget put the cost at approximately US$55.8 million, and an opinion column by Albert David Kamara, republished by the Telegraph, used US$61 million, attributing it to the President. These figures have not been reconciled in the reports we reviewed. The column called the census “the most expensive political calculator in West Africa” and argued that a costly count needs strict transparency and independent oversight. Those are the writer’s opinions; Stats SL and its partners say the data will guide planning for schools, health care and housing.

Graphic titled Four Stories from Sierra Leone This Week. 1 Census: Census Night is December 1, with counting expected from December 2; Stats SL says 29,000 tablets are in hand. 2 Bridges: contracts signed for four bridges in Tonkolili, Karene, Bo and Moyamba under a US$74 million World Bank grant. 3 Power: the Energy Minister told EDSA that faults such as fallen poles should be fixed within hours, not days. 4 Justice: the Chief Justice ordered the release of eligible petty offenders in Kailahun; the prisons chief says Pademba Road, built for 300, holds 2,000 or more. Soul Journey of Life.

Bridges where canoes now carry people

On Friday, October 16, the Ministry of Transport and Aviation signed contracts for four climate-resilient bridges at Komrabai in Tonkolili District, Kabba in Karene District, Sumbuya in Bo District and Moselolo in Moyamba District, the Sierra Leone Monitor and Sierraloaded reported. The work falls under the Sierra Leone Connectivity and Agricultural Market Infrastructure Project, backed by a US$74 million World Bank grant, and is meant to replace hand-pulled ferries and dugout canoes.

According to the ministry, as reported by the Monitor, only one-third of rural Sierra Leoneans have access to an all-season road. The project expects to cut travel times by 30% and benefit more than 2 million rural residents; these are targets, not results. “The construction of these bridges is a critical step towards ensuring food security and increasing local incomes,” Minister Alhaji Fanday Turay said. Senior Permanent Secretary Edward Kwame Yankson urged Paramount Chiefs and residents to treat the bridges as a shared community asset, and Hon. Dickson M. Rogers, who chairs Parliament’s transport committee, asked the contractors for transparency and accountability.

Waiting for the lights in the Western Area

On October 15, Energy Minister Cyril Grant called an emergency meeting with the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) and the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company over frequent outages in the Western Area, according to a ministry statement published by the Monitor. He raised concern over apparent load-shedding and said faults such as fallen poles and burnt cables should be fixed within hours, not days. He also criticised EDSA’s communication with the public during long outages.

EDSA’s Head of Distribution and Technical Services, Ing. Chernoh Jalloh, said many transformers are overloaded and that fast-growing new communities have pushed demand beyond the network’s capacity. He pointed to projects under way, including a Japanese-funded transmission line from the Peninsula to Waterloo and a 40-megawatt solar plant at Benguema due in January 2027. The next day, President Julius Maada Bio visited the Nant gas-fired power project at Kissy. The Monitor reports that the plant, valued at about US$418 million, is projected to supply around 60% of Freetown’s electricity demand once complete.

Justice inside the prison walls

At Kailahun Correctional Centre on October 15, Chief Justice Komba Kamanda reviewed the case files of inmates held for minor offences and of those who had served a substantial part of their sentences, and ordered the release of those found eligible, the Monitor reported. One case involved an inmate convicted of stealing one kilogramme of cocoa valued at NLe 80. A Judiciary account published by OwlPress said more than 100 names were on the review list, and said the Chief Justice clarified that the exercise should not be read as an endorsement of routinely releasing convicted people. The reports we reviewed did not give the final number released. OwlPress also reported that during the same visit, he and Attorney-General Alpha Sesay commissioned new quarters for the district’s resident judge and magistrate. “Brick by brick, Sierra Leone continues to build a justice system that serves every citizen,” Mr. Sesay said.

In Freetown, Correctional Service Director-General Joseph John Senesie told a budget hearing that the Pademba Road centre, built during colonial rule for 300 inmates, now holds more than 2,000, Sierraloaded reported. He said land has been acquired at Masanki in Moyamba District for a replacement.

Timeline graphic titled Census 2026: Key Dates. About October 12, 50-day countdown launched in Freetown; October 14, training workshop for census master trainers; December 1, Census Night; December 2, counting expected to begin; Early 2027, provisional results hoped for, per Andrew Johnny. A note says the launch date is approximate, 50 days before Census Night. Campaign message: Census 2026: Leh Den Kont You Ooh! Soul Journey of Life.

Brief updates

Supreme Court: Lawyer Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, lead counsel for Hon. Osman Timbo and other APC members of Parliament challenging the constitutional amendment, was released on October 13 after an unreserved apology; he had been held since October 8 for contempt of court. “The court has accepted the apology and he is therefore discharged,” the Chief Justice said, according to the Monitor. The main case, over whether Parliament passed the amendment with the votes the Constitution requires, continues. As of October 18, no ruling had been reported.
Universities: On October 13, the Academic Staff Association of the University of Sierra Leone resolved to stay on strike until the government meets its demands for a 100% salary increase and revised conditions of service, or commits to them in writing, Concord Times reported. The strike began on September 16. The ministry calls it unlawful and points to earlier salary increases, A-Z Newspaper reported; the lecturers say those raises came from earlier negotiations and years of stagnant pay, according to Concord Times. As of October 18, no end to the strike had been reported.
Vaccines: After President Bio’s visit to Geneva, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, announced an allocation of US$60.967 million to Sierra Leone for 2026 to 2030, with Sierra Leone’s projected co-financing for Gavi-funded vaccines at about US$4.647 million, according to Gavi.

What we can carry forward

Open the door to the count. A census is only as fair as the households it reaches.
Build where people cross. A bridge brings a farm closer to market, school and clinic.
Keep the public informed. When the lights cannot return at once, people deserve to know why.
Read every file. Justice includes those who are already behind bars.