By Ragan M. Conteh
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon Segepoh Solomon Thomas, has been described by many of his fellow Members of Parliament (MPs) as a Deputy Speaker with a difference, when one considers his level of education, experience and leadership acumen in parliamentary functions, and also outside Parliament.
Hon Segepoh Solomon Thomas was born on 14th May 1976 in Bo Town, Bo District in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone to Mr Philip Segepoh Thomas and Madam Agnes Yeama Thomas.
He is a barrister and solicitor of the Superior Courts of Sierra Leone, a teacher, politician and the current sitting Deputy Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament.
Segepoh Solomon Thomas attended the St Patrick’s Primary School and Bonthe Secondary School in Bonthe and the Agricultural and Vocational Secondary School and Christ the King College in Bo, all in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone.
Upon completing secondary/high school, Segepoh Solomon Thomas was admitted at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone in 1998, where he studied for eleven years. He is a holder of a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree in English and Sociology, a postgraduate Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed.), a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (LLB (Hons), a degree of Utter Barrister and several certificates in related fields.
In 2008, Segepoh Solomon Thomas was part of the Defence Chambers of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a hybrid (local and international) court created by the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone to try persons most responsible for crimes against humanity during the eleven years civil war in Sierra Leone. He then proceeded into full time private practice until his engagement in politics in 2012.
Throughout his tenure as an opposition MP, his name is on record for being vocal in challenging the then ruling APC regime on national issues.
Hon Segepoh Thomas, while acting as Speaker in the Chamber of Parliament, has been praised by some opposition MPs for being impartial in dispensing his role and giving an equal platform to all MPs.
According to some political pundits, based on the political maturity so far displayed by the Deputy Speaker since he got involved in politics, he will surely grow to a more enviable position than the current one he holds.