By Saio Marrah
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Sengepoh Solomon Thomas, has called for better conditions of service and improvement of facilities for the judiciary of Sierra Leone.
The lawmaker made this call during the approval of seven high court and three appeal court judges in the house of Parliament on Thursday 8th December, 2022.
Thomas noted that year in year out judges go to parliament for approval but they are not well catered for and the public instead bash at them.
According to him, it is surprising to note that judges in Sierra Leone are still writing in long hands when dealing with cases. He said in other countries that situation no longer exist.
Thomas also pointed out that there are many judges out there that do not even have a better functioning vehicle and do not live in an enabling environment.
He also pointed out that there are countries that are poorer than Sierra Leone, but have their judges better looked after. For this he called on Parliament to ensure better conditions for them.
The Deputy Speaker asserted that most of the heads of Ministries Department and Agencies are better catered for even when judges do most of the critical work.
Another lawmaker from the ruling party, Hindolo Gevao, after saying that many are called to the bar, but few will make it to the bench, believe most people including lawyers, only applaud judges when a judgment favours of them.
Gevao also appealed to government to employ all the lawyers called to the Bar recently to start prosecuting cases at magistrate courts instead of using police officers.
The Main Opposition Whip Parliament, Hassan Sesay, after acknowledging that all the appointees, are well qualified and had built their niche for themselves in legal affairs over the time, called on them to dispense justice fairly for the benefit the country.
He also called on them to be independent as it is among the recommendations in the post-conflict Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report.
Among the seven judges promoted is Justice Adrian Fisher, who has reportedly served private and public institutions in Sierra Leone and the UK.
Justice Mohamed Sheriff was also among those promoted to the rank of High Court Judge. He was called to the Bar in 2010 and had been serving as a resident High Court Judge in Port Loko from 2020 to date.
Justice Boi Hannah Bonnie, Justice Affrey Aruna, and Justice Mohamed Bawoh are all high court appointees.
New Appeal Court Judge, Justice Tonia Barnett, was called to the Bar in 2005 from the Massachusetts in the United States. She was Acting Appeal Court Judge from 2020 to date and her position has now been permanently confirmed.
Justice Samuel Omodele Moses Taylor and Justice Michael Patrick Hindolo Mami Juniro are the other two appointed to the appeal court. Parliamentarians unanimously approved their nomination.
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