Dr. Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, a Prominent Sierra Leonean Investigative Journalist and a Postdoctoral Associate at Brown University, remains unable to return to West Africa to pursue his historical research due to escalating threats from the Sierra Leone government and its allies. The scholar, known for his work with the Africanist Press exposing alleged corruption and financial crimes in the region, fears retribution, prompting calls for U.S. intervention from the Committee of Concerned Scientists.
Based at Brown’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Dr. Bah specializes in the history of medicine, law, and economics in West Africa, focusing on Sierra Leone’s colonial period. His work as editor-in-chief of the Africanist Press has spotlighted human rights abuses and corruption, reportedly drawing the ire of Sierra Leonean authorities. Despite the need for on-the-ground archival and oral history research, harassment, and death threats have rendered travel to the region impossible.
In a letter dated April 8, 2025, the Committee of Concerned Scientists appealed to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio, urging action. The group highlighted a $480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement between the U.S. and Sierra Leone, signed under the previous administration, as leverage to press for improved human rights and accountability. They called on the U.S. to secure Dr. Bah’s right to return to Sierra Leone and continue his scholarly and journalistic work without fear while demanding an investigation into the threats against him.
