Freetown — Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas has ordered two Members of Parliament out of the Chamber for conduct deemed contrary to the rules of parliamentary proceedings during ongoing debates on the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The MPs affected are Hon. Ibrahim Barrie of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC), representing Bombali District in the North, and Hon. Komba Quee of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), representing Kono District in the East.
The order came as lawmakers continued deliberations on the far-reaching Bill, which seeks to amend key parts of the 1991 Constitution. Debates on the Second Reading began in earnest around late July 2026, with Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay piloting the legislation. Proceedings have featured extensive contributions from both sides of the House before being adjourned for further consideration.
The Bill, first published in the Gazette in December 2025, proposes significant electoral and governance reforms. These include renaming and restructuring the Electoral Commission (to the National Electoral Commission) with a Search and Nomination Committee involving civil society and other stakeholders; a mandatory 30 percent quota for women in elections; fixed election dates (such as the second Saturday in November every fifth year for parliamentary polls); provisions allowing independent presidential candidates; changes to the presidential election threshold and district requirements; and new grounds for Parliament to remove a President or Vice-President by two-thirds majority following resignation or expulsion from their political party. Some proposals draw from the Tripartite Committee recommendations after the contested 2023 elections and earlier constitutional review processes.
Under Section 108 of the 1991 Constitution, constitutional amendment Bills require support from at least two-thirds of all Members of Parliament (roughly 99 of the 149 seats: 81 SLPP, 54 APC and 14 Paramount Chiefs) at the Second and Third Readings. Certain entrenched provisions would also need approval in a national referendum.
Speaker Thomas, elected in May 2024, acted under the Standing Orders that empower the Chair to maintain order in the Well of Parliament at Tower Hill. The simultaneous removal of one ruling-party and one opposition MP underscores that the disciplinary measure was applied across the aisle amid what have been intense and sometimes heated exchanges on the Bill’s provisions.
Hon. Barrie, a lecturer at the University of Makeni and an active voice on issues such as youth unemployment, accountability and institutional integrity, represents constituents in Bombali. Hon. Quee has been involved in constituency development work in Kono, including support for communities in chiefdoms such as Kamaa/Kamara.
The incident highlights the Speaker’s role in enforcing parliamentary discipline as Sierra Leone’s legislature grapples with one of the most consequential packages of constitutional changes in more than a decade.
Deliberations continue, with the Bill still subject to committee-stage scrutiny, further debate and the required super-majority votes before it can advance.
Sierra Leoneans are watching closely, given the Bill’s potential impact on how leaders are chosen, the representation of women, the independence of electoral institutions and the balance of political power.
