FREETOWN, 8 October 2026 — Proceedings at the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone were thrown into turmoil this morning after Chief Justice Komba Kamanda ordered former Attorney-General and counsel for the opposition All People’s Congress, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara Esq., to remove his wig and enter the dock.
The order followed a dispute over the manner in which Mr. Kamara apologised for remarks he made during Tuesday’s hearing of the consolidated constitutional references relating to the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
Court Recess and Failed Apology
The Court had taken a 15-minute recess to allow Mr. Kamara to reflect and tender an apology to the bench.
Upon resumption, Mr. Kamara was called to the Bar. He apologised and stated that he retracted the statement made yesterday.
Chief Justice Kamanda, however, ruled that the apology, as delivered, “did not amount to an apology,” holding that it lacked sincerity and remorse.
The Chief Justice then directed: “Remove your wig and proceed to the dock.”
Police officers were summoned into the courtroom to escort Mr. Kamara to the dock, an area ordinarily reserved for accused persons and not for counsel of the Supreme Court.
As he was being escorted, Mr. Kamara turned to members of the Bar and said, “Members of the Bar, I will be back,” in a moment that drew visible emotion in the courtroom.
Intervention by the Bar
The development prompted immediate intervention from senior members of the Bar. Lead counsel Sulaiman Borbor Kabba and other senior lawyers sought an audience with the Chief Justice to plead on Mr. Kamara’s behalf. That request was initially declined.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, who is representing the State in the matter, also intervened and applied for a short recess to allow the issue to be discussed in chambers. The Court granted the application.
Under Sierra Leone legal practice, an order to remove a wig signifies that counsel is no longer recognised as an officer of the Court at that moment, while an order to enter the dock is considered a grave reprimand and may precede contempt proceedings.
Background to the Dispute
The confrontation stems from Day One of the hearing on Tuesday, 7 October.
Mr. Kamara, representing Hon. Osman Timbo and other plaintiffs challenging the passage of the 2025 Amendment Bill, had raised a preliminary objection to the participation of the Office of the Attorney-General and its application to consolidate three separate actions into one.
He argued that the State had failed to file requisite documents, including a Statement of Case and Statement of Defence, as required under Rule 92(1) of the Supreme Court Rules, 1982, and therefore lacked locus to be heard.
The bench unanimously overruled the objection and granted the consolidation, combining the Presidential Reference filed under Section 122, the Speaker’s Reference under Section 124, and the action filed by the APC MPs.
During that exchange, the Chief Justice cautioned counsel that the Supreme Court “is not a political forum” and emphasized that the Court is founded on independence and integrity.
Adjournment
The substantive constitutional question remains whether non-entrenched provisions of the 1991 Constitution can be amended under Section 91(1) by a simple majority of MPs present and voting, as the Clerk of Parliament certified with 97 votes, or whether Section 108 requires publication and a two-thirds majority of the entire membership of Parliament, being 100 of 149 MPs.
Following the intervention, the Court adjourned the consolidated matters to Tuesday, 13 October 2026.
The Supreme Court is yet to indicate whether formal contempt proceedings will be initiated against Mr. Kamara.
Mr. Kamara served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice between 2016 and 2018 under former President Ernest Bai Koroma and has twice contested for the flagbearership of the APC.
