Freetown – Defence counsel launched a blistering attack Thursday as musician, reality TV star, and opposition activist Yeabu Zainab Sheriff’s high-profile appeal kicked off before Justice Mark Ngeba.
Prominent lawyer R.S.V. Wright, leading Sheriff’s legal team, hammered five powerful grounds challenging both her conviction and four-year prison sentence. He told the court the case against the We Yone Duti (Wi Duti) Movement chairperson collapses under legal and evidentiary scrutiny.
Wright reminded the court that blogger “Born 2 Blog” privately interviewed Sheriff at an All People’s Congress (APC) political rally on 31 January 2026 at Brima Attouga Mini Stadium in Cline Town. The blogger published the content—not Sheriff herself. Two CID Cyber Unit officers initiated the prosecution after viewing the video online, despite zero public complaints.
Ground 1: Illegal Summary Trial
Wright argued that incitement remains a common law offence triable either summarily or on indictment. He insisted the Magistrate had a duty to obtain Sheriff’s express consent before opting for summary proceedings. Without that consent, Wright declared the entire trial a nullity and demanded the High Court quash the conviction.
Grounds 2 and 4: Defective Charges and Shaky Legal Basis
The defence accused the Magistrate of convicting Sheriff despite admitting the charges contained defects. Wright criticised the lower court for leaning on a non-binding dissenting judgment instead of established law. Although rules allow courts to amend faulty charges, prosecutors never attempted any fix. The Magistrate even acknowledged that Count 1—charging incitement in its basic form—was defective but still delivered a guilty verdict.
Grounds 3 and 5: No Victim, No Evidence
Wright drove home that the prosecution presented no actual complainant. The case relied solely on the opinions of two police officers who watched the blogger’s video. No witness testified that Sheriff’s words incited or threatened them. In the absence of any evidence showing real incitement or public alarm, Wright argued prosecutors failed to prove the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
Sheriff, an APC flagbearer aspirant, was convicted on 14 April 2026 by Principal Magistrate Mustapha Brima-Jah at Magistrate Court No. 1 on Pademba Road. The court sentenced her to four years for incitement and two months for threatening language, to run concurrently. She remains at the Sierra Leone Female Correctional Centre in New England.
Wright urged Justice Ngeba to allow the full appeal, quash the convictions, and immediately set aside the sentences.
The High Court adjourned proceedings to 16 July 2026 for continuation, as both sides prepare to press their arguments further.
The case continues to fuel intense public debate over free speech, political expression, and the use of public order laws in Sierra Leone.
