Freetown | 1st August 2020 | Vertex Media

Representatives of various DJ bodies have today 1st August 2020 agreed to dissolve all other existing bodies or unions across the country and come under one umbrella as a roadmap to the unification among the DJs’ fraternity. Prior to this pronouncement, the DJs in Sierra Leone and the various sectors of the entertainment industry have been fighting hard for unity among them. Every sector in the industry has multiple bodies which makes it very difficult for the government or any development partner to deal with them. For instance, the music industry has couple of groups representing the interests of certain members.

The DJs in Sierra Leone have today led by example as they have agreed to dissolve all existing DJs bodies and rebuild one DJs body. They have inspired other sectors like the movie, comedy, music, etc to follow suit. Today, the various DJs bodies (Sierra Leone DJs Union – SLeDU, Club DJs Association – CDA, Elite DJs, Team 10 and other private or freelance DJs) met at the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown and presented a Memorandum of Understanding where they agreed on the following:

1. All existing DJs bodies are dissolved, brought together and rebuild the Sierra Leone DJs Union (SLeDU). Note that only the SLeDU executive will be dissolved, but the structure and other entitlements like Constitution, certificates, accounts, etc., will remain unchanged.
2. The elders’ council will be tasked with the responsibility to set up an interim body that will run the affairs of the Union until an election is held within the shortest possible time.
3. The new interim body will consist of a ten-man committee: including the Chairman, Secretary, Organizing Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer, and five members from the Elders’ Council
4. Any member in this interim body is ineligible to run for the office of President in the forthcoming election.
5. The Elders’ Council have the sole responsibility to conduct the forthcoming election that will elect the President and Secretary.

During their contributions, the former leaders of the now defunct DJs bodies applauded the idea of bringing all DJs under one umbrella in Sierra Leone. The former President of Elite DJs, Ezekiel Charles aka DJ Zico said, “this is the biggest opportunity for the unification of Sierra Leone DJs across the country.”
The former President of SLeDU, Abdul Karim Koroma aka Pilot CPO also said that Sierra Leone DJs are facing disrespect and maltreatment in the entertainment industry because of the division among them. He called on all to embrace this course.

The General Overseer and co-founder of SLeDU Ibrahim Kalokoh aka DJ Kallox expressed his happiness to see all DJs come together under one body. “I’m happy to see that we have all swallowed our prides and answered this important call. This is what we have been fighting for, for a very long time,” he said.

DJ Samboy formerly of CDA, DJ Med Brown formerly of Team 10 and other speakers also expressed similar sentiments and support towards this unity among DJs. They all spoke about the crucial roles of DJs in promoting entertainment, especially music in Sierra Leone.

After all the deliberations, a Committee of Ten was appointed by all present, which brought Pilot CPO (former President of SLeDU) as the Chairman of the new SLeDU interim body, to be supported by DJ Whiter as his Secretary. Other internal positions to be appointed by the Chairman later.

By Ibrahim Sorious Samura

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