The results of the Sierra Leone Bar Exams for 2012 are out! They were published last week, barely a month after 105 candidates had sat to the exams, the largest number ever admitted since the school was established in 1990.
In a humble room overlooking Lamina Sankoh Street in Freetown, over 80 students of the Sierra Leone Law School milled around the only students’ notice board, without fanfare. While some students destroyed their sight, and held their breath wondering what would become of their fate if they missed out on the second opportunity, others, apparently happy for having crossed the Rubicon, suppressed their happiness, if only to empathise with their colleagues who did not make it at the first go.
75 students passed, 10 failed while 20 were referred. With about 33 Cameroonians and 2 Gambians, the Sierra Leone Law School continues to play the role of a midwife in the birth of legal practitioners across the West Africa sub-region. Among the passes are three broadcast journalists Joseph Egbenda Kapuwa, Musa Mewa and Nicky Spencer-Coker.
A total of 37 students graduated with Second Class Honours, 19 of whom are Sierra Leoneans from Fourah Bay College (FBC) and 3 Sierra Leoneans from the Diaspora. 38 students graduated with a Third Class 18 of who are Sierra Leoneans from FBC, and 7 from the Diaspora. Of the 33 Cameroonians, 13 got Second Class Honours while 14 received Third Class. The first two star pupils were Cameroonians.
The 75 students who passed are now set for the ‘Call to the Bar’ ceremony in October, although those referred and the 10 failures stand a chance of being included if they pass the reference/re-sit exams next month.
