By Janet A. Sesay
The commissioner of the Anti-corruption Commission Sierra Leone, Francis Ben Kaifala, during the Sierra Leone Bar Association election on 18th May, 2024, was captured live in a video sharing ballot papers to individuals to vote in favour of Madam Tuma Adama-Gento Jabbi.
This video captured the ACC boss live inside the hall where members of the bar should cast their vote. This video was shown to the media in a press conference held by the two aspirants, Wara Serry-Kamal and Augustine Marrah including aggrieved lawyers at the Brookfields Hotel in Freetown.
The video also shows how badly democracy has been murdered in Kenema.
At the press conference, Julian Cole in his statement said the reason for the press conference is to continue to pursue the dreams and ambition of the Sierra Leone Bar Association under the leadership of an executive that would be democratically elected.
He said it would be an occasion for members of the association to hug one another when they go into an election as two contestants competed and all wished each other well at the end of the day.
He said but sadly and unfortunately and pathetically they call this press conference so that journalists can witness a result which is prejudiced and to have firm conviction that the bar cannot continue to tow the line to the violation of laws and principles of democracy, good governance and the rule of law.
Julian Cole furthered that after the event in Kenema they had hoped that they would be together again sharing dreams and continue to interact but that was not the reason why they called the press briefing because few people wanted to murder democracy and break the rules which define the association.
He further stated that they called the press conference to make it categorically clear that gone are the days when they will sit and allow perpetrators to continue to destroy the fabric of the society, adding that this is a conviction that is strict in their belief that they would put a stop and stand up to the wrong things that they want to deposit at the Bar.
Julian Cole before displaying the video said the video shows how nefariously people went about to prevent the truth of democracy to have a stay within the AGM but they believe that it is possible for a change and want the world to see what really happened in Kenema, how colleagues treated their fellow colleagues.
He said it is very sad and pathetic as lawyers went for an AGM and so they expected democracy and the rule of law but they did not get either, adding that what they got was a clear genocide against democracy.
In a joint press statement by Augustine Marrah and Wara Serry-Kamal condemning the event of the Annual General Meeting held in Kenema they said that the Kenema AGM of the Sierra Leone Bar Association represented a grave assault on the principles of democracy, transparency and integrity that the association is founded upon.
They said the actions and inactions of the Board of Directors at the AGM which have led to the declaration of a purported executive that was not duly elected are not only illegal but also deeply troubling.
They said before the AGM they made concrete efforts to enhance the integrity, transparency and accountability of the electoral process.
Both Kamal and Marrah said their actions include court applications where solicitor Julian Cole, Wara Serry-Kamal and Joy Precious Bayoh filed application in court aimed at ensuring greater participation of members.
They said these applications sought voting by proxy, early publication and verification of the voters’ list amongst other things but the court refused to grant these applications.
They also said for security concerns Wara Serry-Kamal through two letters addressed to the Inspector General of Police requested a meeting with the Sierra Leone Police to discuss and address security concerns ahead of the conference but her requests were not granted.
They furthered that a proposed meeting through a letter written by both aspirants addressed to the outgoing president of the Bar and directors of the association was declined by the outgoing President who refused to meet with them, adding that these events confirmed that what occurred at the AGM in Kenema was enabled by the Association’s Directors, the Sierra Leone Police. The court also did not help the situation.
Both Marrah and Kamal said it is with great disappointment that they addressed these series of undemocratic manoeuvres orchestrated by the Association’s Directors and their enablers in Kenema.
These they said include the blatant disregard for the electoral process and the disenfranchisement of members which are clear violation of the memorandum and articles of the Association of the Sierra Leone Bar Association Companies Act of 2009 (as amended) and ethical principles of decency and integrity.
They said at the AGM there was manipulation of the voters list where it was evident from the outset that the integrity of the voters’ list was compromised and members who had duly paid their dues found their names omitted from the list and the issue was raised by some members and yet it was not addressed by the directors.
The said also there were unlawful agenda changes in which the amendment of the agenda to commence voting prematurely at exactly 12 pm when the time slated for registration and arrival of members, between 12 and 1, was a calculated move to disenfranchise colleagues who were traveling from Bo and Freetown and whose movement had been strangely blocked by a truck on the Bo-Kenema highway.
They also said that there was an imposition of Returning Officers in which the purported appointment of Francis Kaifala, the Commissioner of the Anti-corruption Commission, as returning officer despite objection to his nomination on the grounds of conflict of interest, adding that the omission to put the other nominations of Julius Nye Cuffie, including Kaifala to a vote by the members and the refusal to allow the usual practice of appointing three senior members of the Bar present in the hall to assist the Returning Officer which would have ensured a fair process and the fact that Francis Ben Kaifala, the ACC boss, purportedly acting as the Electoral Commission undermined the very democratic processes the seek to uphold.
They said the purported election presided over by Francis Ben Kaifala was conducted without recourse to any verified voters’ list in a hall shut down by security personnel on the instruction of Kaifala after security personnel had dispersed with pepper spray and teargas a majority of the members who were present.
That only a handful of members, including other unidentified persons who were in support of Tuma Jabbi who mostly wore blue wristbands were allowed to vote and fully paid up members were denied ballots papers while those with the blue wristbands received multiple ballots.
They said the handful of voters, for Tuma Jabbi under the watchful eyes of Francis Ben Kaifala, were able to mysteriously generate among them and the total of 560 votes for Tuma Jabbi in the purported election for the President of the Bar Association.
Both Kamal and Marrah said they were taking these positions in which the executive purportedly selected at the AGM in Kenema did not represent the will of the paid up members of the Sierra Leone Bar Association as they do not recognise them as duly elected.
Also they said they will explore all legal means to ensure that an election of directors of the Association consistent with democratic standards is held as soon as possible and they will also explore all accountability measures against all those who were complicit in the sham electoral process.
They therefore urged all members of the Sierra Leone Bar Association to join them in this call for justice and to remain steadfast in the face of these challenges.
A lot of questions were asked by the press and answers were given by both lawyers Wara Serry-Kamal and Augustine Marrah.