THE DECRIMINALISATION OF SPEECH IS THE WAY FORWARD
The sentencing of Bah Diakhate and Imam Ndao to three months imprisonment for spreading of false news and insulting the prime minister of Senegal is sending a wrong signal.
The importance of free speech is precisely why the world sees the need to decriminalise anything associated with it. This however is not a licence for anyone to have the audacity to spread false news or insult another person. The world has seen the need to combat false news and defamatory remarks by naming and shaming the doer and even create the possibility of paying the aggrieved person damages to one’s reputation.
A debate is necessary in all African countries on this subject matter. There is no need to involve law enforcement officers in arresting and prosecuting a person for merely stating an opinion even if it is false or insulting to another. The objective of an aggrieved person who is subjected to insults or a wrong allegation is to have remedy to the wrong done by ensuring that the truth is known by all and that the wrong doer apologises and pays damages. Foroyaa therefore strongly recommends that the new Senegalese government in particular and all African governments in general endeavour to decriminalise speech.
