Sierra Leone’s new Spectrum Monitoring System promises cleaner airwaves and better call quality. However, concerns arise over its potential to locate transmitters and identify users, raising significant privacy issues.
Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, a legal expert, highlights that the real concern lies in the surrounding legal framework. Sierra Leone lacks a comprehensive data protection law or an independent privacy regulator. The Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021 allows for real-time data collection, which has been misused against journalists in the past.
Additionally, the National Security and Central Intelligence Act 2025 gives extensive surveillance powers to the presidency, with weak judicial safeguards and no independent oversight. The convergence of these powers could turn what is intended as a regulatory tool into a formidable surveillance device.
Kamara urges the government to enact the Data Protection Bill, establish an independent regulator, and require judicial warrants for surveillance. He insists that while better networks are welcome, they must not come at the cost of privacy, press freedom, or constitutional rights. Sierra Leoneans deserve both connectivity and respect for their rights.
