Publications & Thoughts
Insights on law, governance, human rights, and judicial reform in Sierra Leone.
The callisthenics of governance in Sierra Leone: SLPP's PR-busting development versus the people's defiant poverty
An examination of the SLPP government's PR-focused approach versus actual development outcomes, highlighting the gap between rhetoric and reality.
Read ArticleA critique of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone’s conviction of Augustine Marrah for criminal contempt
A critique of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone’s conviction of Augustine Marrah for criminal contempt, Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah, page 209.
Read ArticleThe Status of the Rome Statute in Sierra Leone: Mock Support for International Criminal Justice?
A critical analysis of Sierra Leone's hesitance to domesticate the Rome Statute despite its significant contributions to international criminal justice.
Read ArticleREMINISCENCES ON THE OCCASION OF THE 151ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE METHODIST BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL—
I was in the first form—One Alpha, and our class teacher was the late Mrs. Emma Dupigny (may her soul rest in peace—I’d come to her many times later).
Read ArticlePonder Our Light: A New Direction in Blackout and Low-Voltage
The energy infrastructure project is nearly as old as our nation's republic. What we need is proper management of what we already have.
Read ArticleEnhancing Economic Integration, The Rule of Law and Democratic Governance in West Africa
A paper presented at the Liberian National Bar Association on the role of legal professionals in strengthening democratic governance and economic integration in West Africa.
Read ArticleOpen Letter to Dr. Julius Spencer on the String of Resignations at Radio Democracy (98.1 FM)
An open letter addressing the departures at Radio Democracy and the importance of empowering women in leadership positions.
Read ArticleNigeria should set good example for West Africa in democracy and not become a self-appointed warrior-in-chief!
An examination of ECOWAS's response to the Niger coup and why Nigeria must prioritize democratic values over military intervention to lead West Africa.
Read ArticleBut how fast is the Fast-Track Commercial Court?
An examination of whether the Fast-Track Commercial Court has lived up to its name or whether it has become a pale shadow of its former persona.
Read ArticleREST IN PEACE: DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE FOR LEGAL PRACTITIONERS
A literary satire intended to ridicule the state of affairs of the Disciplinary Committee and stimulate effective discharge of its duties.
Read ArticleFreetown City Council (FCC) impregnates the Fast Track Commercial Court (FTCC) with sewage and garbage
The FCC should be at the forefront in protecting the image and sanitation of the courts of justice, not subjecting them to health hazards.
Read ArticleDecolonizing the Sierra Leone Legal System: Time to Pluck Off the Remaining Feathers of Imperial Statutes
While the common law of England can continue to be part of Sierra Leone's legal system, the wholesale adoption of laws from 1880 should be repealed.
Read ArticleAdvocating a judicial reformist attitude to bail in Sierra Leone: a human right and economic argument
The author advocates for a reformist judicial attitude to bail in consonance with the principles of presumption of innocence, right to liberty and economic growth.
Read ArticleHannah Iris Ahmed nee Palmer: A Matriarch in law sleeps on...
A heartfelt tribute to H.I. Ahmed, the first female president of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and the oldest practising female lawyer until her demise.
Read ArticleWill a New Constitution Resurrect Constitutionalism in Sierra Leone?
A new constitution, however progressive its provisions may be, does not translate into constitutionalism as a key norm of democracy.
Read ArticleWill you marry me?
The President campaigned on fixing leakages and shrinking government spending.
Read ArticleWhy we should all be “Edmond Nonie” Augustine
This past weekend, the nation flared up in furore when a group of educated men and women decided to coalesce into a union of SLPP lecturers.
Read ArticlePolitics is our biggest problem!
I am not saying that that we should trash politics from our governance. (Of course we can’t, politics are the very activities that are connected to governance...
Read ArticleTRIBUTE IN HONOUR OF THE LATE JOHN JUSTICE BANTING
We met thirteen or so years ago through the sheer providence of coincidence.
Read ArticleTreason trial overthrows pandemic fight in Sierra Leone!
Few days ago on 21st May 2020, military tanks and security personnel teemed the major streets of the central business district of Freetown, barricading the law court building and abutting streets.
Read ArticleTOWARDS A RENAISSANCE…BY THE NEW DIRECTION?
I am comforted that after almost twenty years of erratic imaginations and to some, adolescent pontifications, the message of Renaissance is gaining traction and is now embedded in the vision of the New Direction of our nation.
Read ArticleThe indefinite suspension of Lara Taylor-Pearce is unconstitutional and yet another affront to our democracy!
In my opinion, the suspension of Madam Lara Taylor-Peace is the second most notorious constitutional ruckus of the last decade.
Read ArticleWINSTANLEY BANKOLE JOHNSON’S “THE GAPS IN THE PROPOSED ACC AMENDMENTS 2019”
I agree with Winstanley that the proposed amendments by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 should be thoroughly scrutinized by our representatives in Parliament.
Read ArticleThe Court of Appeal of Sierra Leone: the sick man of the judiciary!
The Court of Appeal, which once was the archetype of the conduct and dispensation of justice, is now swaddled in inexcusable adjournments of appeals.
Read ArticleTHE SOUTH AFRICAN JUDICARY IS SHOWING HOW TO GATEKEEP A GROWING DEMOCRACY AND HOW TO DEFEND THE RULE OF LAW!
Former President Zuma has spent few days in prison following an order of the Constitutional Court of South Africa (the SA concourt).
Read ArticleTen dangers of the proposed Cybercrime Law 2020
The words 'freedom of expression' are not mentioned in the Act. This law would definitely limit freedom of expression with no regard to fundamental freedom.
Read ArticleTop 10 socio-legal wrongs and political misconduct of this decade (2010-2019)
A countdown of the most scandalous socio-political wrongs and misconduct of the decade in Sierra Leone, from the exclusion of pregnant girls to the sacking of the Vice-President.
Read ArticleDoes social distancing in churches contradict the message of the cross?
Christianity's central creed is the divine powers of Jesus Christ. But the current worship atmosphere is stained with fear, suspicion and edginess.
Read ArticleSLAJ's Press Champion award to the President undermines their independence!
The award was precipitous and serves no basis other than denting the sagging image of independence of the institution. We would only truly know after his tenure.
Read ArticleSierra Leone's Judiciary holds the most events in the world!
The judiciary has self-revised its TORs to include holding workshops, trainings and conferences. The frequency of these events disrupts court proceedings and obstructs justice.
Read ArticleSHOULD LAWYERS BE DINING WHILE JUSTICE IS STARVING?
The Bar Association's singular opportunity to be with the President should not be about indulgence in food when justice issues are piled up higher than the Tower of Babel.
Read ArticleRemembering J-6: It's time Mr. President to end the Arata and leatherboot-esque political violence
If January 6 should remind us of anything, it should be that speckles of political violence and indiscipline are undesired flashbacks of the bitter carnage of our past.
Read ArticleReflections on Independence Day celebrations!
There is a difference between being declared independent and attaining independence. The former is an act, the latter a process. We have not achieved independence as a nation.
Read ArticleProtest is to democracy what voting is to elections
Our right to participate in a democracy does not stop at being issued a ballot paper. It goes all the way into how we hold those we elect to account.
Read ArticleNew Notes in Old Hardship Wrappers!
The new note is intended to wrap the old and sick economy, to hide the current economic wrinkles. Psychology does not fix the economy; weak economies result from low productivity.
Read ArticleMY READATHON 2020: BOOK 4 - A HIGHER LOYALTY by James Comey
Trump: I need loyalty. Comey: You will always get honesty from me. The former FBI Director recounts how he defied attempts by Donald Trump to court his loyalty.
Read ArticleMY READATHON 2020: BOOK 3 - WHY NATIONS FAIL by Daron Acemoglu & James Robinson
This book debunked with historical references that history and geography do not determine the destiny of any nation. Extractive political institutions are largely responsible for poverty.
Read ArticleMY READATHON 2020: BOOK 2 - THIRTEEN CENTS by K. Sello Duiker
A book starkly naked on matters of sex, sexuality, struggles on streets and violent crimes in post-apartheid South Africa.
Read ArticleMy first journey to where my father called home…
A reflective journey to Bambukoro village, the ancestral hometown founded by great-great-grandfather Sorie-Sengbe, commemorating the fortieth day of a father's passing.
Read ArticleMothers’ Rest? Why we all should be angry!
Today is exactly halfway a ninety-day willful break from fierce activism. My comrade and brother, Chernor Bah aka Ceebah, believes there can be no vacation in social activism.
Read ArticleVote of Thanks - Sierra Leone Law School Star Pupil 2008/2009
A speech delivered at the Call to Bar ceremony, reflecting on the journey from FBC to Law School, the bonds of friendship, and the pursuit of excellence.
Read ArticleIS THE JUDICIARY, THE NEW DIRECTION’S “NO FLY ZONE”?
No doubt, the judicial machinery of governance has been largely incapacitated by a mixture of willful dereliction of duty and politico-judicial compromises for about a decade now.
Read ArticleHow one woman’s leadership is transforming registration of documents landscape
Some two years ago, Ms. Saptieu Elizabeth Saccoh was appointed the Administrator and Registrar-General (ARG) in charge of the registration of all legal documents...
Read ArticleHow absence of rules deforms the COI outcome(s)
The COI findings paint a horror script of systemic siphoning of state resources. But the absence of procedural rules has deformed the process and its outcomes.
Read ArticleHow a patriarchal justice system is oppressing a woman, and everybody is silent about it.
The story of Pamela Davies, a woman of lavish integrity, who defied unlawful instructions and now faces silent oppression from the patriarchal structures within the legal system.
Read ArticleHE can babysit: but can he act tough?
Sierra Leoneans did not vote for the President to breastfeed and babysit ministers. He was voted to lead, to hire the right hands and minds, and to fire them.
Read ArticleHalf a dozen free valuable lessons from the Dr. Catherine Jackson-Cole activism
Six valuable lessons on why professionals must be at the forefront of holding government accountable, and why speaking up will not condemn you to penury.
Read ArticleFirst Year in Memory…Sissy Kai
A year after a mother's passing, a son reflects on the special bond, the voice notes that preserve her memory, and the activism inspired by her struggles.
Read ArticleFACTS AND MYTHS ABOUT STATE OF EMERGENCY Augustine
The President has the legal authority to declare a State of Emergency, but such proclamation must be submitted to parliament. Here are the facts and myths you need to know.
Read ArticleEbola is over…but are the pains of its survivors?
Sierra Leone declared its territory free from Ebola after 42 days of zero infection. But it was just the beginning of another episode of ordeal for more than 4,000 survivors.
Read ArticleDelayed judgments: how long is too long?
One of the long-standing problems in the justice delivery in Sierra Leone is the uncertainty of delivery of final decisions or judgements.
Read ArticleCAN THE BORN-AGAIN CHIEF JUSTICE REVIVE THE JUDICIARY? (PART TWO)
Democracy and rule of law advocates concur that since the current Chief Justice took over, the glimmer of a revival of the judiciary is fast ebbing out.
Read ArticleCAN A BORN-AGAIN CHIEF JUSTICE REVIVE THE JUDICIARY?
The mantle of shepherding justice has been entrusted to a man who professes to love God. Can he lead a crusade against historic frames of injustices?
Read ArticleIs the legal profession in ICU?
Ten instances in the last half a decade which in aggregate show that the legal profession is hugely crisis-laden and in need of urgent attention.
Read ArticleHow a college drop-out came back to become a Law School Star Pupil (valedictorian)
A snippet of resilience: from being whisked out of exams for unpaid fees, to working in a candle factory, to emerging as the Star Pupil at the Bar Finals.
Read ArticleCan there be democracy without good governance?
Democracy is a system of governance measured by eight factors: Participation, Rule of law, Transparency, Consensus, Equity, Effectiveness, Efficiency and Accountability.
Read ArticleA new direction in an old constitutional wineskin?
The Constitution is the grundnorm of society. President Bio's 'New Direction' should be marshalled by a new constitution reflecting the evolution of our society and advancement of democratic governance.
Read ArticleLEAVE IT TO NAASU by Naasu G. Fofanah
A review of a fractional autobiography that tells the story of resilience and fearlessness, defying the limitations faced by women in childhood, marriage, career and political life.
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