By Joseph Lamin Kamara
The opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) is once again in the Supreme Court, after its failed bid following the 2012 elections.
This time round the country`s main opposition party is merging with the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) in a joint suit that seeks to challenge a number of irregularities they say a number of actions by President Bai Koroma, his government and the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) have sparked in the constitutional process of the country.
The legal teams of the two parties on April 24 filed an originating notice of motion at the Supreme Court against the Attorney General and Minister of Justice (1st defendant, the Deputy Minister of Justice (2nd defendant), the Speaker of Parliament (3rd defendant), the Deputy Speaker of Parliament (4th defendant), the Electoral Commissioner, northern province, (5th defendant), the Electoral Commissioner, southern province (6th defendant), the governing All Peoples Congress (APC) party (7th defendant) and Victor Bockarie Foh – appointed vice president (8th defendant).
The SLPP and PMDC are the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs respectively in the matter.
At a joint press briefing on Friday at the law firm of PMDC leader Charles Francis Margai in Freetown, representatives of the two opposition parties said they had brought the cases against the governing authorities because they wanted to end violation of the country’s constitution, Act No 6 of 1991.
Sulaiman Banja Tejan-Sie, national secretary general of SLPP, said they were seeking answers to 11 questions and they wanted 18 reliefs.
Among other issues, the two parties are concerned about whether the appointment of the 2nd defendant as deputy minister of Justice by President Koroma was not a violation of Section 64 (1) of the constitution “in light of indivisibility of the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice,” as provided for by the same section; whether the appointments by the President of the 5th defendant as a member of the Electoral Commission representing the northern province and the 6th defendant as a member of the commission representing the southern province, without consulting “the leaders of all registered political parties”, were not in violation of Section 32 (3) of the Constitution which states that “. . . The members of the Electoral Commission shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the leaders of all registered political parties . . . .”
According to the two parties, President Koroma appointed the two commissioners without consulting them.
Although they both acknowledged they were late to challenge the appointments of the deputy minister and the two commissioners, the parties said they were now challenging those together with the sacking of Sam-Sumana and the appointment of Victor Foh because they wanted to avert “catatrosphy,” according to Charles Margai.
About Sam-Sumana and Foh, the opposition parties are asking among other things whether, according to the Constitution, the President of Sierra Leone can relieve the elected Vice President from his office and duties; whether . . . the president of Sierra Lone can declare vacant the office of Alhaji Samuel Sam-Sumana as the elected Vice President of Sierra Leone; and whether the appointment of the 8th defendant as Vice President is not in contravention of “sections 54 (5), 41 (d), 71 (b), 76 (1) (b), 171 (1). . . .”
Robert Kowa, legal adviser to PMDC, told journalists at the Friday press briefing that their effort was not limited by just the sacking by President Koroma of Samuel Sam-Sumana as vice president, but they were also concerned with events that took place as far as the first term of the APC.
He however stated that their action was not “a witch hunt.”
“We do not want posterity to judge us wrongly,” he said.
Although members of the opposition parties have often complained of selective justice in the country’s judiciary system, SLPP and PMDC believe the Supreme Court will be just in its ruling in their joint application.
This is the latest major legal suit championed by the SLPP since the highest court in the country threw out its case petitioning election results of 2012. Back then the SLPP was challenging certain results of the presidential and parliamentary elections that saw President Ernest Bai Koroma win a second term in office, but the court threw the case out on technical grounds.
“It is an opportunity for the Supreme Court to prove that it is not business as usual,” Margai told Politico by phone on Tuesday.
© Politico 29/04/15
