FREETOWN, 27th October 2026 – Peace Ambassador Abubakarr S. Turay, popularly known as Shady Baby, has pleaded with President Julius Maada Bio to use his prerogative of mercy to release detained entertainer and political activist Zainab Sheriff from the Correctional Centre on health grounds.
Zainab Sheriff was sentenced to four years and two months imprisonment earlier this year and is currently serving her term at the Female Correctional Centre, New England, Freetown.
Shady Baby, who is a youth peace advocate and member of the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion’s youth network, made the appeal on Monday at the National Unity Conference held at the Bintumani Conference Centre, citing growing concerns about her deteriorating health condition.
“Zainab’s health is getting worse every day in detention. As a peace ambassador, I am pleading to President Bio as a father and as a President who believes in reconciliation, to please consider releasing her,” he said.
Zainab Sheriff is a well-known Sierra Leonean musician, model, former Miss Sierra Leone contestant, reality TV star and Chairperson of the Wi Duti civic movement. In recent years she became an outspoken opposition figure and flagbearer aspirant of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC).
She was arrested on 20th February 2026 after being declared wanted by the Sierra Leone Police. The arrest followed remarks she made on 31st January 2026 at an APC gathering at the Brima Attouga Mini Stadium in Freetown.
According to the prosecution, Sheriff said anyone who rigs an election has committed treason and should be killed along with their family, and referred to the President as a “rigger.”
She was charged with two counts – incitement and using threatening language under the Public Order Act of 1965. She pleaded not guilty. During her trial at Magistrate Court No.1, she was denied bail on eight separate occasions at the Magistrates Court and once at the High Court.
On 14th April 2026, Magistrate Mustapha Brima Jah found her guilty on both counts and sentenced her to four years for incitement and two months for threatening language, to run concurrently.
Health Scare and Appeal
Since August 2026, concerns about Sheriff’s health have grown nationally. Rumours of her death went viral on social media on 17th August, prompting the Sierra Leone Correctional Service (SLCS) to issue a statement describing the reports as “fake news” and confirming she was alive but had complained of illness and received treatment.
Her family, lawyers and civil society groups including the Lawyers’ Society have since said she suffers from a serious breast-related condition and requires specialist care that may not be available within the correctional system. The Lawyers’ Society in a statement on 24th August said: “Incarceration does not strip a person of fundamental rights to dignity, humane treatment, and access to healthcare.”
Her defence team filed an appeal on 18th June 2026 raising 19 grounds, including defective charges, jurisdiction of the Magistrate Court to try incitement summarily, and excessive sentence for a first-time offender. On 18th June, High Court Judge Justice Mark Ngeba dismissed the State’s objection and allowed the appeal to proceed to a full hearing. The matter has since suffered delays, while Sheriff remains in custody.
Her case has also attracted political attention. In May, Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr visited her in prison and questioned what she called the “inconsistent application of the law” compared to other incitement cases.
Shady Baby’s appeal adds to growing calls from the Female Musicians Union, which in August released her song “Have Mercy,” women’s groups, and APC supporters who say the sentence was harsh for political speech.
Section 40(4) of the 1991 Constitution gives the President powers to grant pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions, after consultation with a committee. President Bio used this power earlier this year on New Year’s Day to pardon 59 inmates.
