FREETOWN – The Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) has pushed back against the country’s top legal officer, rejecting his authority to intervene in the association’s internal dispute over its postponed Annual General Meeting.
In a strongly worded response dated 10 June 2026, SLBA President Tuma Adama Gento-Kamara told Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay that his directive of 2 June 2026 , which demanded the immediate holding of the AGM and withdrawal of an indefinite postponement notice , has no legal basis.
The association argued that the Attorney General, despite his role as Titular Head of the Bar, holds no statutory or common law power to issue binding orders on its internal governance. The President described that title as “honorific and ceremonial.”
“The Attorney General has no supervisory or directorial power over the internal governance of the SLBA,” Gento-Kamara wrote, adding that respect for the office “does not require acquiescence to ultra vires directives.”
The response also took issue with Sesay’s interpretation of the association’s Articles of Association, particularly Article 22, which governs holdover arrangements for an expired executive. The SLBA insisted that such legal questions are matters for its membership or, if necessary, the High Court – not for unilateral determination by the Attorney General.
On the indefinite postponement of the AGM, announced on 1 June 2026, the association said no breach of the Companies Act 2009 had yet occurred. It noted that an indefinite postponement is not the same as a permanent cancellation, and that enforcement of any alleged violation lies with the High Court or the National Investment Board, not the Attorney General.
The SLBA president also pointed to what she called a contradiction in Sesay’s position: he argued that the current executive lacks legal authority, yet simultaneously directed that same body to take formal action to convene the AGM.
While declining to comply with the Attorney General’s demands as presented, the association committed to announcing a definite AGM date within three months. It said this timeline would allow for proper compliance with notice requirements, quorum rules, and electoral fairness.
The SLBA further warned against executive overreach, stating that the independence of the Bar requires it to be answerable only to its members and the courts, “not to executive fiat.”
Sesay had earlier cautioned that “several legal and constitutional options” remained available to secure compliance. Whether his office will now pursue the matter before the High Court remains unclear.
