The High Court of Sierra Leone has ruled to uphold an injunction preventing the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) from holding its Ordinary Congress, following a legal challenge filed by Tamba G. Gbetuwa, Chairman of the Moyamba District Football Association.
In its ruling, the court rejected the SLFA’s argument that the dispute should be resolved internally through the association’s mechanisms.
The SLFA had petitioned Gbetuwa’s legal challenge, claiming that the matter was an internal dispute and outside the court’s jurisdiction.
However, the court affirmed its jurisdiction, referencing Article 1 of the SLFA Constitution, which classifies the association as a corporate entity with the legal capacity to be sued.
The court noted that allowing such internal disputes to bypass judicial oversight would deny aggrieved members access to immediate legal remedies, including injunctions.
The court further stressed that the interpretation and enforcement of Article 26 of the SLFA Constitution – the central issue in Gbetuwa’s complaint – were more appropriately addressed by the judiciary.
As part of its ruling, the court made the following key decisions:
1. The SLFA’s petition filed on November 27, 2024, was dismissed.
2. The injunction granted on November 25, 2024, remains in effect until vacated by the court.
3. The substantive matter will be heard and resolved promptly.
4. SLFA is ordered to pay costs in the cause.
This ruling reinforces the court’s role in ensuring that the SLFA adheres to its constitutional obligations and upholds the legal rights of its members.
The case will continue in the coming weeks, with the court set to address the substantive matter.
However, some observers have opined that the petition by the SLFA was nothing less than a clandestine move by the association’s leadership to prevent some candidates from aspiring in the forthcoming SLFA Congress.
Aruna Sesay, a football enthusiast in Freetown has described the situation as very unfortunate, adding that Sierra Leone needs a new football management to restore sanity in our local league as well as qualify the national team to the African Nations Cup and the World Cup.
“We must get out of this mess as soon as possible…..we are a football loving nation and we are tired of stagnating,” he said.
