By Abdulai Fasineh Dumbuya
Aggrieved members following the fallout from the Sierra Leone Bar Association Elections in Kenema last Saturday have blamed the Court, Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the Association’s Board of Directors for failing to adhere to transparency and accountability procedures relating to the electioneering process.
This they said was clearly evident before the elections at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in the eastern provincial headquarters of Kenema.
A joint statement by the aggrieved representatives of the Bar Association led by Augustine Sengbe Marrah and Wara Serry-Kamal stated that the SLP, the Court and the Association Directors’ actions did not help the situation, despite having requested that a number of issues be addressed before the AGM date.
Court applications to ensure greater participation of members, security concerns to discuss and address security-related matters ahead of the meeting and proposed meetings with the outgoing President of the Bar, according to the joint statement, were completely ignored in the face of what they said was a very serious situation .They claimed none of the institutions or key figures among the directors took the chance to address those actionable plans to ensure free and fair election.
It stated that a grave assault was exercised on the principles of democracy, transparency and integrity by the Board of Directors and its enablers at the AGM and that their actions and inactions resulted in a declaration of purported executives that were not duly elected.
“It is with great disappointment that we address the series of undemocratic maneuvers orchestrated by the association’s directors and their enablers in Kenema, such as blatant disregard for the election process and the disenfranchised of members,” it reads in part.
Additional issues the statement mentioned include compromising the voters list through manipulation, the omission from the list the names of members who have duly paid their dues; imposition of a returning officer, an alleged sham electoral process; and unlawful agenda changes also deterred the thrust of the entire election process.
Speaking at the conference, Marrah and Serry-Kamal agreed that zero election was conducted at the AGM and therefore vowed to pursue all legal processes to restore the values and principles on which the association was established.
Marrah confirmed their steadfastness with democratic standards to safeguard the integrity of the association, adding that “we are not asking for fresh elections because no election was conducted at the AGM; we are asking for elections meant to be held at the AGM to be conducted.”
Asked by journalists whether there was direct political involvement in the elections, he totally denied such an assumption but said that the alleged electoral fraud was committed by identified persons, whose actions he said cannot be ascribed to any political party. He said: “colleague lawyers perpetrated the evils and that those errors cannot be politicized’’.
Responding to the question of whether there was an objection over the nomination of the Returning Officer, Serry-Kamal said Francis Ben Kaifala’s nomination followed numerous objections in the hall but all were ignored, saying Kaifala was improperly and illegally imposed as the returning officer. “He was never proposed as the returning officer,” she claimed.
A number of reactions have been made by senior lawyers and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) about the implications of the AGM outcome on the state and the citizenry. They include the Institute of Governance Reform (IGR) and the Past Presidents of the Bar Association.
In a public notice dated May 20 2024, past leaders of the Sierra Leone Bar Association unreservedly condemned the violence perpetrated by some members of the Bar at the AGM in Kenema and therefore described their actions “antithetical” to the values and principles of the profession.
A total of nine past presidents called for holding of proper and transparent elections; and urged the leadership of the Bar to address the irregularities and improprieties of the elections.
“We stand united in our resolve to protect the integrity of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and to ensure that justice and democracy prevail within our ranks,” the notice reads.
In a media interview on May 21 2024, on the disputed elections, the Executive Director of the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) Andrew Lavali said that government’s interference into the workings of civil society organizations may have implications on the citizens, the justice system and the state.
“If civil society organizations do not become independent including their associations and movements it is less likely to have good governance,” he said.
Bar Association considered the highest elite's group, he said has a pivotal role to play with the hope of upholding the fundamental norms of rule of law and justice; as well as seeking public trust in the judicial system.
According to him, politics has permeated into many walks of life in Sierra Leone and the Bar Association is being hugely impacted among others. He also pointed out that if the state does not withdraw its interest from CSOs’ interference, it will affect the ethics of state administration altogether.
He noted that the AGM incident is unfolding at an especially tense time when the public trust in the judiciary is very low, adding that for the last ten years only 36% of citizens trust the judiciary system.
Meanwhile the returning officer at the alleged rigged Bar elections announced Madam Tuma Gento-Kamara as President-Elect, with a total of 506 votes cast, followed by Madam Serry-Kamal with 23 votes, and August Sorie Sengbe Marrah with 15 votes. 28 invalid votes were registered at the elections.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (27/05/24)
