ActionAid Sierra Leone to use music against electoral violence

ActionAid Sierra Leone, the local arm of the international charity organisation, will use music in its anti-violence campaign. According to the organisation, the implementation will take two forms: face-to-face discussion and performances. The intervention will cover 10 of Sierra Leone’s 14 districts.

The West African country has seen rising tensions ahead of the general elections, with reports of possible exploitation by politicians of young Sierra Leoneans.

Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2016, ranging from 0 to 100, put the global average at 43. “Sierra Leone scored 30 and ranked 123 out of 176 countries, fairing worse than Liberia with a score of 37 and ranked at 90 out of 176. Corruption is endemic in Sierra Leone and has got worse,” a report in a Sierra Leone newspaper said.

The policy and planning manager of ActionAid International-Sierra Leone, Aminata Kelly Lamin, said her organisation, which is using #VotesAlone as its campaign slogan, was focusing on certain districts prone to violence. These areas will be reached in different ways.  

“We are using a two-pronged approach,” she said. “Firstly, we are reaching out to the people in person, with a face-to-face discussion by youths, and then we will use artists with musical shows.”