FREETOWN – Barrister Yada Hashim Williams has strongly rejected the National Revenue Authority’s decision to seal his law office over an alleged rental tax liability, describing the action as “illegal, high-handed, malicious, and devoid of any factual basis.”
Williams also argued that the NRA targeted the wrong premises. He noted that Section 120(3)(j) of the Income Tax Act authorizes sealing of “the premises for which rental income tax remains unpaid” – which would be the Wilberforce property, not his law office at 7 Walpole Street.
In a public statement issued on 21st May 2026, Williams said that NRA officials, accompanied by armed police personnel and cameramen, went to his law offices at 7 Walpole Street on Wednesday, 20th May, and sealed the premises.
According to Williams, the sealing was carried out in direct violation of a High Court order obtained earlier that same day. He said he had initiated legal proceedings on 18th May to address the NRA’s claims, and the Court’s order prohibiting such action was duly communicated to the Commissioner-General and the NRA’s Director of Legal Affairs.
“The NRA officials in utter contempt of the said injunctions went ahead with their illegal and malicious activities,” Williams stated.
He also clarified that the alleged tax liability relates to rental income from a property at Fourah Bay Close in Wilberforce, which is leased to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Williams said he does not owe any taxes on that rental income.
Williams explained that all tenancy agreements with the UNDP clearly state that the UNDP shall deduct applicable government taxes at source before remitting rent to him. He cited Section 120 of the Income Tax Act No. 8 of 2000 and Section 11 of the Finance Act No. 2 of 2018, which mandate institutional tenants to withhold tax on rent payable.
“I did not have a choice on the matter – it is mandatory for tenants, the UNDP in this case, to deduct taxes payable on my rents,” he said. “Only somebody as dumb as a donkey will not appreciate that position of the law or arrangement.”
He accused the NRA of using him as a “scapegoat” to launder its image, describing the authority as “notorious for stealing and mismanaging millions of dollars” – a claim he attributed to the Anti-Corruption Commission itself.
Williams said the premises were almost immediately reopened, reversing the illegal conduct, and vowed to fight the NRA’s actions within all permissible confines of the law.
