Negotiations with the RUF continued with the newly-elected SLPP government. On March 1996, the civilian government assumed office. About four months later, the government reached a cease-fire agreement with RUF, but fighting continued throughout much of the country and the cease-fire did not hold.

Although the electoral process had spurred the launch of numerous newspapers, the media's expectation of greater freedom as a reward for its pressure on the NPRC regime that led to civilian rule was quickly nullified. The Kabbah government simply recycled the intolerance and tactics of its predecessors by banning newspapers, detaining journalists, and slapping criminal libel and sedition charges against the independent press. Citing national security concerns, the government began harassing the media, many of which were new radio stations and newspapers that were established for short-term economic or political gain, and staffed by non-professionals.

In May 1996, the Parliament passed legislation prohibiting reporting on parliamentary committee decisions and secret sessions, and created the charge of "contempt of Parliament" to enforce these guidelines. On October 11, 1996, Torchlight editor Sheka Tarawali, and Expo Times editor Gibril Koroma and reporter Max Jimmy were the first to be arrested on contempt of Parliament charges in connection with an article titled. Tarawali had written an article titled, "Kabbah Bribes MPs," about loans the government had approved to Members of Parliament to purchase Mercedes Benz vehicles. Without the benefit of trial or a court appearance, Parliament sentenced Parawali to one-month imprisonment. Koroma and Jimmy were released after apologizing in person to Parliament. The Torchlight newspaper, which is a mouthpiece for the opposition United National People's Party (UNPP), had already been targeted by the government when its first issue was banned in September 1996 on the grounds that it contained unflattering articles about President Kabbah.

There were 12 newspapers in 1996; in 1997, there were more than 50. To counter what was perceived as rampant unprofessionalism, the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), headed by Frank Kposowa, drew up a code of ethics which proposed minimum requirements for the experience and education of editors and journalists, and forwarded it to the government for ratification. The SLAJ strategy relied on de facto censorship, rather than accessible journalistic training, media self-scrutiny, or improved professional standards, to counter what was perceived throughout society as sensational or inaccurate reporting.

In July, a National Reconciliation Committee (NRC) was inaugurated to investigate the NPRC's abuse of power and crimes against civilians. A glaring absence from the NRC's mandate was the authority to investigate or prosecution human rights abuses committed by either government soldiers or RUF forces during the war. The NRC never functioned because of an Indemnity Bill that was passed before the NPRC left power, and which the Kabbah government wanted to ratify in Parliament. This Bill was believed to be one of the prices paid by President Kabbah for the NPRC to vacate the State House.

On November 30, 1996, President Kabbah and RUF leader Foday Sankoh signed the Abidjan Peace Accord. Delegations from the United Nations, Organization of African Unity, and the British Commonwealth also participated in the negotiations. The agreement ordered the immediate cessation of hostilities and authorized the UN and ECOMOG to ensure the implementation of the agreement, including the cease-fire, disarmament, and demobilization of combatants.