My
personal opinion is that the Sierra Leone Bar Association means well for this
country in the same way this newspaper means well. I have a lot of respect for
those lawyers & judges who contribute tremendously to the development of
this country. The Bar doesn’t deserve to be dragged to the mud so members of
the Bar should pay keen attention to the Friday June 12th 2015 front page of
NEWS WATCH newspaper which is published by one of their own in person of
Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai.
In his
publication that carried a huge photo of the Head of State, Lawyer Emmanuel
Saffa Abdulai is claiming that the Bar Association of which he is a member, is
micro-managed by His Excellency the President Dr. Ernest Koroma from State
House to extent the President wickedly threatened to sack his Ambassador in
Senegal, Madam Kadie Bassir if the ambassador’s child, Lawyer Ady Macauley, did
not withdraw from contesting for an executive position at the Bar. That
disgusting article published by a lawyer like Saffa Abdulai who is a member of
the Bar Association, had some very unconscionable allegations that are grossly
seditious.
I have
spoken with His Excellency the President about that published allegation by a
member of the Bar Association and I can categorically state that it is a
shameful untruth against the President who has better things to do than involve
himself so pettily in any aspect of Bar Association elections.
This is
why it should be of deep concern to the Bar that the June 12th publication by
one of their own, has dragged the reputation of the Bar to the deepest depths
of the filthiest mud. Until the Bar cleans itself of such a serious allegation
that it is malleable in the hands of politicians, I think it should please
leave this newspaper to carry out our sacred obligations under the Constitution
and the Law.
Section
11 of Sierra Leone Constitution is subtitled as: Obligations of the mass
media and it says: “The press, radio and television and other agencies
of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental
objectives contained in this Constitution and highlight the responsibility and
accountability of the Government to the people.”
Basically
the Constitution places an OBLIGATION on all media, including this newspaper,
to bring to light, allegations of roguery in government as well as highlight
concerns of citizens over any such deficit in any arm of government. In other
words, we are OBLIGED under the law to do so.
Furthermore,
Act No. 4 of Year 2000 and the subsequent Report of the Truth &
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) go further to instruct the media to be
regularly highlighting what caused the war so as to ensure we all take steps to
ensure war never breaks out again. TRC says Rogues at the Judiciary created the
conditions of bitterness that caused the terrible civil war. This is a fact and
going by the comments now being made during the constitutional review process,
it is still a very sore point of concern for many citizens of Sierra Leone.
In our next edition, we will cover how ACC
can help the Bar.
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Newspaper in Freetown, Sierra Leone.