FREETOWN, 8th October 2026 – Lead Counsel for the opposition All People’s Congress (APC), Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara (JFK), has reportedly been returned to the Male Correctional Centre at Pademba Road after Supreme Court judges failed to sit for a scheduled bail hearing this afternoon.
JFK, a former Attorney-General and Justice Minister, was earlier remanded in custody on Thursday morning after Chief Justice Komba Kamanda held him in contempt of court.
The Chief Justice ruled that Kamara’s apology over remarks made during Wednesday’s proceedings in the Constitutional Amendment Bill reference was inadequate.
Kamara was ordered to remove his wig, enter the dock, and was subsequently sent to prison.
He was later brought back to the Supreme Court premises for a bail application filed by his legal team and the Sierra Leone Bar Association.
However, according to reports from the court, the five-judge panel did not reconvene to hear the application, resulting in Kamara being returned to prison.
Sources say his detention is now expected to continue until Tuesday, 13th October 2026, when the Supreme Court is scheduled to resume the substantive hearing on the constitutional amendment reference.
The development has triggered widespread public reaction on and off social media, with many lawyers, politicians and civil society activists questioning the circumstances surrounding the contempt proceedings and the continued detention of the APC’s lead counsel in what is already a highly charged political case.
The Bar Association is yet to issue an official statement on the latest development.
