Chernoh Alpha M Bah

Chernoh Alpha M. Bah was born on March 28, 1979 in Makeni, Sierra Leone where he attended primary and secondary school. He later pursued African Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone in Freetown.

In 1995 Chernoh participated in the formation of the Pan-African Movement for Human Rights and Democratic Development, which campaigned for the protection of the oppressed masses of Sierra Leone. The Pan-African Movement was instrumental in building the national demand for civil rule.

As Secretary General of the Pan-African Movement for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Chernoh became politically active, participating in the campaign against the oppressive military regime of the National Provisional Ruling Council then in power. Chernoh was part of the fight to restore democratic rule to Sierra Leone in 1996. This struggle led to the installation of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah as head of state.

Chernoh Alpha M Bah

In 1997, at seventeen, Chernoh joined forces with other comrades to form the Awareness Movement to unite young Africans in Sierra Leone to struggle against the notorious atrocities of the Revolutionary United Front. When President Kabbah was overthrown that same year by the Sierra Leone Army, Chernoh again participated in pro-democracy campaigns to fight for the restoration of civil rule. Since that time Chernoh has remained actively opposed to the ongoing military rule in his country.

In 1998 Chernoh became the editor of The Point newspaper after most Awareness Movement members fled Sierra Leone due to incessant attacks by the ruling military junta.

When RUF rebels invaded Freetown in 1999 Chernoh was forced to move to Guinea-Conakry. In exile he formed the Young Writers Association, which worked to unite writers and journalists displaced from Sierra Leone and Liberia. Journalists from the association reported abuses against the thousands of African people from war zones of those countries who were seeking refuge in camps in Guinea.

The Young Writers Association quickly developed into a mass movement, bringing together Africans from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia to discuss problems facing refugees and their persistent harassment and intimidation by the Guinea police. The Association became a vehicle not only for the discussion of problems facing the war-torn African population in Guinea but also of the need for the African masses to unite and organize for genuine liberation in Africa.

As president of the Association, Chernoh helped established The Nations Newspaper, the first English publication in Conakry to provide news and analysis of the conditions of Africans in exile in Guinea and the conflicts in both Sierra Leone and Liberia.

In 2001 Chernoh was arrested in Guinea and detained on charges of “espionage and sedition.” After his release from prison the regime in Guinea banned the Young Writers Association and The Nations Newspaper. Chernoh returned to Sierra Leone, bringing together what remained of the Young Writers Association to form the Africanist Movement whose ultimate goal was to fight for the uncompromising liberation and unification of the oppressed African masses.

In 2009 the Africanist Movement with a grassroots membership base of thousands of mainly young Africans from 8 West African countries was disbanded and the African Socialist Movement of Sierra Leone was founded as the organizational vehicle to take the struggle of African liberation, unification, and socialism to the next level in Sierra Leone.

Today, Chernoh Alpha M. Bah is the Chairman of the ASM-SL which through an alliance with the pro-democracy National Democratic Alliance political party 10 members of the ASM-SL are contesting the traditional neocolonialists in the national elections for strategic seats in parliament and council. Chernoh is seeking a seat in parliament as representative of Constituency 28 in Makeni. This process of transforming mass power into concrete state power will greatly enhance the ability of African people in Sierra Leone to participate in the process of liberation, directly. In his capacity as the National Spokesperson of the NDA Chernoh has been able to effectively expose the corruption of the ruling elite and party.

Highlights of Chernoh Alpha M. Bah’s political activism and journalistic accomplishments include:

• Secretary General of the Pan-African Movement for Human Rights and Democratic Development, 1995.
• Co-founder of the Awareness Movement, January 1997, formed to unite young Africans in Sierra Leone to campaign against the atrocities of Foday Sankoh’s Revolutionary United Front.
• Editor, The Point newspaper, March 1998
• Founder and President of the Young Writers Association, 1999, formed to unite exiled writers and journalists from Sierra Leone and Liberia
• Founder of The Nations Newspaper, first English publication in Conakry to provide news and analysis on the conditions of ‘refugees’ in Guinea and conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
• Founder and Director of the Africanist Movement, 2001-present, formed to fight for the uncompromising liberation and unification of the oppressed African masses.
• Former Editor of the Concord Times Newspaper (several articles available on AllAfrica.com)
• Former columnist for The Democrat Newspaper
• Winner of the 2002 PAMHADD’s African Journalist of the Year Award. Mr. Bah is one of a few journalists in Sierra Leone trained to report on international criminal justice.
• Editor of the Critique News International Magazine
• Publisher and Editor of both The Africanist newspaper and African-Extra Bulletin
• Member of the West Africa Monetary Zone Media Forum established to promote grass root participation in West Africa’s economic integration process.
• Director of the Africanist Movement and current Chairman of the African Socialist Movement of Sierra Leone, National spokesman for the National Democratic Association (Sierra Leone), parliamentary candidate in Makeni, SL

Chernoh Alpha M Bah