Claim: Several social media posts claim that one of Sierra Leone’s historians, Professor Joe A. D. Alie, is dead.
Professor Alie has debunked the claim both on WhatsApp and on radio.
Full Text
Several social media posts have been in circulation on different social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, claiming that historian Professor Joe A. D. Alie is dead.
It was not stated by the posters the cause of his death but captions such as ‘Another big loss for Sierra Leone’, ‘Sierra Leone has lost another icon’, announced Professor Alie’s purported death.
About Joe A. D. Alie
Joe A.D. Alie is Professor of History at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, where he studied and received a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Modern History.
He earned his PhD and Certificate in African Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. Professor Alie studied education at Milton Margai Teachers College Goderich, near Freetown.
The Sierra Leone Government awarded Professor Alie with the title of Commander of the Order of the Rokel (COR) in 2006 for his contribution to education in the country.
Verification
Professor Alie has debunked his alleged death in a WhatsApp group to which he belongs stating that he is ‘still alive.’
He also spoke to a journalist with Africa Young Voices Television and Radio, Ransford Lube-Metzger.
“I am alive and not dead,” says Professor Alie in the telephone call.
DUBAWA also spoke with Dr. Hindolo Tonya Musa, the Director of Communication and Alumni of the University of Sierra Leone where the Professor works as the Dean of Postgraduate Studies.
“Professor Joe A. D. Alie is not dead. He is alive and doing fine. The news going round about his death is false,” he said. “People just want to make issues out of nothing by spreading fake news.”
Conclusion
From the verification of the widely-circulated claim on social media, it is clear that the news of Professor Alie’s death is false.
The researcher produced this fact-check per the 2021 Kwame Karikari Fact-checking Fellowship partnership with Afriradio to facilitate the ethos of truth in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.
