Freetown, Sierra Leone— Renowned broadcaster Hassan Arouni has, for the first time, given a detailed account of the political pressure and behind-the-scenes intimidation he faced while moderating Sierra Leone’s 2018 presidential debate.
Arouni shared these details during an appearance on AYV’s Hot Seat program with Mamaja Jalloh, popularly known as DJ Base, on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
The event, widely viewed as a milestone for public political dialogue in the country, came with intense expectations. Arouni, then a senior journalist at the BBC, was selected by civil society organizations and the African Young Voices (AYV) Television to serve as the sole moderator.
Before accepting, he needed clearance from the BBC, his employer at the time. “They questioned me thoroughly. They made it clear, if anything went wrong, it would fall entirely on me,” he said.
Determined to maintain neutrality and journalistic integrity, Arouni insisted on drafting all the debate questions himself and kept them confidential throughout the process. During one session of drafting the questions, he and the AYV producer sat together, each working separately on their own laptops.
Although they didn’t collaborate, Arouni realized the producer had seen or heard some of the questions. After the producer left, he deleted the entire set and drafted a new version from scratch. When the producer later returned to request the questions for the teleprompter, Arouni declined to share the updated version and instead handed over the earlier draft the producer was already familiar with.
On the day of the debate, the teleprompter displayed outdated questions rather than the final version. Anticipating complications, Arouni had kept his working copy on his personal laptop and conducted the debate from there. After the first round, he was physically confronted by the same producer, who accused him of changing the questions.
The incident, which took place backstage, left him shaken. A staff member from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) witnessed the exchange and stepped in to help calm him down so the debate could continue.
Arouni also revealed that the same individual had originally lobbied to co-moderate the debate, but civil society leaders had insisted on a single Sierra Leonean journalist to handle the role. “They insisted that I alone moderate, that I alone draft the questions, and that I alone take responsibility,” Arouni maintained.
Despite careful preparation, not all the assigned themes made it into the final broadcast. Issues such as national cohesion were dropped due to time constraints. Many of the questions Arouni did include were grounded in real-life accounts he’d heard from ordinary Sierra Leoneans, among them, a story from Makeni, involving a woman reportedly set on fire, which informed one of the gender-based violence questions.
While the debate was praised publicly, Arouni faced accusations in the aftermath. Some critics, particularly political actors, alleged that he was part of a broader effort to engineer regime change. These claims, he said, were deeply painful, especially given how closely he had guarded the process. He emphasized that no one else had access to the final set of questions and that every topic he raised had been independently researched and selected with journalistic care.
The 2018 debate was just one chapter in a broadcasting career that spanned more than three decades. Arouni’s journey began in his school days, when he first went on air at the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS). He had originally considered careers in medicine or fashion and would spend afternoons in Victoria Park studying flower patterns to learn color combinations. But it was radio that ultimately captured him. From the moment he sat behind a microphone, he felt at home.
His desire to join the BBC was sparked years later by a Jewish song he heard on Network Africa during a difficult period in his life. The message—“If all the doors on earth close, the doors in heaven will not be closed on you”—resonated deeply. “I wanted to work at that station. I wanted to create that kind of magic.”
He later pursued a Master’s degree in International Journalism in London. During his time there, a chance visit to Bush House, the BBC’s former headquarters, led to a two-week internship, thanks in part to a recommendation from someone who had worked with him in Sierra Leone.
That internship turned into a contract, and eventually, a full-fledged career. He went on to host both Network Africa and Focus on Africa, becoming known for his ability to shift between styles and audiences with ease.
Despite his visibility, Arouni often encountered confusion about his identity. Many listeners assumed he was East African. Even some Sierra Leoneans, he said, didn’t immediately recognize him as one of their own. But questions of origin never distracted him from his purpose. For Arouni, journalism was never just a profession; it was a calling rooted in service and trust.
His experience during the 2018 debate, while bruising, reaffirmed that belief. It tested his resilience and ethics but also reminded him of why he chose this path in the first place.
