By Kelvin Jay
Saturday 18th May, 2024, was another sad day for Democracy in Sierra Leone. It was a day which the Bar Election was held in Kenema, and a day which the fundamental Principles of Democracy were murdered by handful of lawyers, as shown in video footages that went viral, giving a clear picture of how the Bar Election was compromised.
In that video, Ben Kaifala, who served as Presiding Officer of the Bar Election, was caught in the middle, sharing ballot papers to unidentified people to cast their votes without even going through the voters list. Ben’s action has come under public criticism.
Pa Momoh Fofanah, a renowned and veteran legal luminary, wrote a letter to the outgoing President of Bar Association, Michealla Swallow, expressing his concerns about the irregularities of the Bar Election conducted under the supervision of Ben Kaifala, and how the Association has been hijacked, with the latter being the pioneer.
“Even more, the events that unfolded in Kenema today speak to only one unfortunate fact that our Association has been hijacked and that, Ben Kaifala who was also the Chairman in the past AGM, is a pioneer of the hijack and its sad event”, said Pa Momoh Fofanah, in his letter addressed to the Bar’s Outgoing President, and agitated for the election to be annulled and a date fixed sooner to conduct a fresh election for the 2024 Bar Executive, at a place and venue that the Bar general membership shall agree upon.
On Tuesday 21st May, 2024, two of the aggrieved Presidential Candidates of the Bar Election, Augustine Sengbe Marah and Wara Serry Kamal, summoned a Press Conference at the New Brookfields Hotel, and expressed their concerns, displaying video footages showing how the Bar Election was mutilated in Kenema.
They, however, hold on to the firm conviction that the election does not represent the will of paid-up members of the Bar.
According to them, the Bar Election in Kenema was not democratic and therefore they can’t accept its outcome; and stated further their intention to take legal action to enforce their claims.
“Our Position remains that no democratic electoral process was concluded in Kenema, and consequently, no new Board of Directors of the SierraLeone Bar Association was elected”, said the lawyers in a joint press statement.
Toeing their line, 8 Past Bar Association Presidents, including Charles Francis Margai, Francis Gabbidon Esq, Emmanuel Shears-Moses, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, Basita Michael, Elvis Kargbo and two others, unreservedly condemned all attempts to disenfranchise members of the Association and to deny them their rights to elect new leaders.
“Any conduct that undermines the Democratic Process within our Association is unacceptable and must be thoroughly investigated and addressed”, says the lawyers in a joint press release, and called for the nullification of the results announced at the AGM, which favored Mrs. Tuma Gento and her Executive.
They furthered that: “To restore faith and integrity within our professional body, we call for the immediate organization of proper and transparent elections. These election should be adhered to the highest standards of fairness and impartiality, ensuring that all eligible members can exercise their right to vote without intimidation or obstruction”, adding by urging the leadership of Association, headed by Ms. Michaela Swallow, to take decisive action to address the irregularities and improprieties observed during the recent election process.
