JOSEPH EGBENDA KAPUWA ELEVATED AS IMC CHAIRMAN
Credit: Story by Uncle Sankara Media Platform, +23277763898, January 13th, 2024.
After revamping the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC) to such an enviable height by upgrading the station to a standard of digital transformation, President Bio has deemed it fit to elevate him as the regulator of the Sierra Leone Media landscape.
He is no other person, but Joseph Egbenda Kapuwa, the journalistic guru turned legal luminary.
President Bio`s appointments are always strategic; before he was appointed as the director general of the SLBC, he was among the best journalists at the institution who went on to initiate, produce, and present programs of insight such as “Inside the Media.” His helm at the SLBC witnessed the digital transformation of the national broadcaster, thereby leaving a legacy that would be hard to surpass by his successors.
Following his successful digital overhaul of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC), President Bio has appointed Joseph Egbenda Kapuwa as the new head of the Sierra Leone Media landscape.
His unbiased attitude was demonstrated during the electioneering period; he was fair enough to give the main opposition, APC, the SLBC platform to sell out their programs, policies, and philosophy.
This type of unbiased approach will be suited for his new assignment, where the IMC serves as the arbiter of complaints brought against journalists and media houses by the private sector or members of the public.
Having completed his mission at the SLBC, Joseph Egbenda Kapuwa’s legal background and vast knowledge of the Sierra Leone media setting made him the apt person to serve as the Independent Media Commission (IMC) chairperson.
Journalists, as they normally say, are troublemakers who must be policed. As the chief regulator of the media, he will ensure that journalists act professionally as dictated by the ethics and norms of the profession by abiding by the media code of practice.
Failure of this would apply punitive measures dictated by the statutory provisions. As a legal luminary of reputable standing, he would be in a better position to interpret legal provisions meant to regulate journalists’ conduct as connected to their sacred duty of being the fourth estate of the realm and the watchdog of society. In essence, he will play his role efficiently as the watchdog of the watchdog without any fear or favor.
