Summary: Hassan Arouni is a Sierra Leonean journalist who worked for the BBC over several decades. As a result of his determination to report the truth to citizens concerning the powers-that-be, Arouni became a trusted voice for the people and succeeded in placing successive governments in check through his writings and his comments on national issues. Throughout his tenure, he also faced physical and professional assaults because of people’s political leanings, even though he strived to remain neutral in his reporting.

Profile: It’s not always easy being a journalist when your reporting flies in the face of government officials or predominant political and cultural mores. Sierra Leonean journalist Hassan Arouni, who worked for the BBC over several decades, knows this only too well. In 1989 Arouni began his career with the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service while still a student. In 1993, he moved to England and began working at the BBC, producing several radio programs, including the most popular—Focus on Africa—which has earned a reputation for being reliable and trustworthy. From 2012 to 2016, Arouni returned to Sierra Leone, training aspiring journalists and developing other programs. He returned to England in 2016 and retired in 2023.

Arouni has had a multifaceted career. He hosted the 2018 Sierra Leone presidential debates and was heavily criticized in some circles for supposedly changing his questions to the candidates from what he’d originally proposed. Arouni’s philosophy as host was clear, however: “It was a chance to ask questions that really matter, where aspirants would be held accountable for their responses.” Many people praised his performance, but others assaulted him, some physically, for allegedly supporting a regime change. Arouni has also championed cessation of domestic violence and anti-gender biases; that has also earned him ire. He was a significant factor in getting the Sierra Leone government to repeal a law that allowed it to punish journalists it disagreed with.

In many ways, Arouni exemplifies both the standards and the risks taken by international journalists: “When you are reporting on your own country, the emotions are great. You have to be neutral but at the same time, you know these are your people, so there were times when I would go quietly into a room, cry, dry my eyes, come back and work as if nothing had happened.” He also made it a priority to remain neutral: “If I felt, for example, I was too attached to a particular issue, I would pass the story onto a colleague and ask them to do it. If I felt that the posture I was taking might not be balanced, I would run it past a colleague.”

Arouni continues to report, comment, and inspire on Facebook and other media. His principles remain the same: report the truth, try to ignore enemies, and support positive changes in Sierra Leone and elsewhere.