Paul Kamara
| Paul Kamara | |
|---|---|
| Sierra Leone Minister of Sports | |
|
Assumed office 23 December 2010 |
|
| President | Ernest Bai Koroma |
|
Assumed office Febr |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
12 August 1956 Kambia, Sierra Leone |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Residence | |
| Alma mater | Fourah Bay College |
| Profession | Journalist |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Paul Kamara (born 12 August 1956) is a Sierra Leonean journalist, football manager, and cabinet minister.
Kamara was born on 12 August 1956 in Kambia District, Sierra Leone. He is Catholic and a former priest, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sierra Leone. He is married to Isatu Sidratu Kamara, with whom he has three daughters.
Since 1983, Kamara has served as editor of For Di People, a Krio-language newspaper. Kamara has at times been critical of all sides in Sierra Leone's conflicts and has reportedly angered multiple political parties. The citation of the Civil Courage Prize lauded Kamara as a journalist who had "consistently crusaded against corruption and other social ills, championed press freedom, human rights and democratic values in Sierra Leone, despite continual harassment and intimidation".
As a consequence of his journalism, Kamara has been regularly threatened, attacked, and jailed. On 20 February 1996, the first day of a round of elections, Kamara was fired on by soldiers with automatic rifles and wounded in the leg, ostensibly for violating curfew. Though human rights groups have since described the incident as an "assassination attempt", no official inquiry took place. In 1999, three Revolutionary United Front (RUF) officials allegedly assaulted Kamara in the For Di People office following an article which described the "posh life" of military commanders in Freetown. On 25 September 2001, Kamara and six other journalists received anonymous death threats following their criticism of the government's decision to postpone elections. Government spokespeople denied involvement, and accused the journalists of fabricating the threats to win international sympathy.
On 12 November 2002, the Sierra Leone High Court convicted Kamara on 18 counts of criminal libel following a series of articles criticising appeals court judge Tolla Thompson's management of the Sierra Leone Football Association. He was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 4,500 leones (about US$2). He was freed on 11 March, but announced his intention to appeal his conviction on principle to have his conviction expunged from his record.
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Wikipedia