Sierra Leone’s prickly Chief Justice Komba Kamanda lost his rag and ordered the arrest of senior opposition lawyer for contempt of Supreme Court

There was drama at Sierra Leone’s Supreme Court yesterday, as the senior lawyer for the country’s main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party – Barrister Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara (JFK) who himself is a former Attorney-General, was asked by the Chief Justice – Komba Kamanda to “undress himself” – remove his wig, before he was arrested by police in court on the orders of the Chief Justice.

Such a public row in front of the nation’s television camera is unprecedented, and marked another major turn in the country’s chequered political history as tension rises once again between the SLPP government and the opposition APC over the interpretation of the Constitution of Sierra Leone by the Supreme Court judges.

So, what caused the Chief Justice to have lost his temper and ordered the arrest in court of one of Sierra Leone’s most senior lawyers and advocate of the opposition APC party yesterday?

Proceedings at the Supreme Court yesterday was intended to be the first day of preliminary hearings by the Judges to establish whether, the Speaker of Parliament was right to declare the proposed amendment of the country’s constitution as passed by members of parliament, without the vote of the required two thirds of all elected members of parliament in August 2026.

Those proceedings are bound to be tense and politically charged. This is Sierra Leone, a country that is still struggling to find its feet after ten years of civil war in the 1990s, and a post-independence political turmoil that is refusing to go away.

But there is something even more worrying about Sierra Leone today – the image of a small West African nation captured by international drugs cartel, who are now believed to be the paymasters of senior government officials, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.

Ordinarily, when tensions flare at the Supreme Court, no one expects the Chief Justice to lose his temper simply because of a heated exchange between himself and counsels acting for the litigants. But yesterday at the Supreme Court, counsel for the opposition APC – Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara appeared to have touched a raw nerve, when he raised concerns over the documents filed by lawyers acting for the government in the Attorney-General’s Office.

Kamara’s argument was that the Attorney-General’s Office had not filed the necessary documents, including a Statement of Case responding to the issues raised by the litigants before the Court. (Photo: Chief Justice Komba Kamanda and APC Lawyer Joseph F Kamara).

Tensions are high, because the stakes are high for both the government and the opposition APC , as well as the people of Sierra Leone.

And this is one case before the Supreme Court that the government must win, if the ruling SLPP party is to survive the forthcoming 2028 general and presidential elections.

Thus, not surprisingly, the Chief Justice’s response to the concerns raised by Joseph Kamara was all wrapped in political rhetoric, accusing lawyer Kamara of turning the Supreme Court into a political forum, and reminding Kamara that the Supreme Court is “a court founded on independence and integrity”.

Following that interjection by the Chief Justice, there was going to be only one outcome yesterday, as the proceedings took a downhill path. Chief Justice Komba Kamanda who felt his ego had been bruised and nose put out of joint by Joseph Kamara’s challenge of what he saw as the government’s sly and underhanded behaviour, had to act fast to assert his authority and take control of his Supreme Court.

But Joseph Kamara continued to maintain that the proceedings were unfair. At this point, Chief Justice Komba Kamanda felt he had to humiliate lawyer Kamara by demanding that Kamara remove his wig – his symbol of authority to speak in court, and then ordered his arrest. Kamara is in detention until next Tuesday when the case is expected to resume.

Bruised ego some would say, but the Chief Justice it seems has revealed his hidden political hand in this significantly historical constitutional matter that is before the Supreme Court – a matter the government cannot afford to lose.

Many would argue that Joseph Kamara was not publicly undressed and arrested yesterday because of what he said to the Chief Justice, but of how it was said. Is that an arrestable offence?

Those supporting the Chief Justice argue that Joseph Kamara had disrespected the Supreme Court by his tone and manner of objection. But shouldn’t the people of Sierra Leone watching to see how the Supreme Court interprets the country’s constitution expect a robust and tense exchange to ensure that the matter is heard and dealt with fairly and transparently?

Even though Joseph Kamara had initially apologised to the Judges for his tone in court, the Chief Justice demanded that he repeated his apology. Joseph Kamara again apologised, but Chief Justice Komba Kamanda said that the way the apology was delivered did not amount to a proper apology.

There is something fundamentally and perversely wrong in any liberal democracy, in which citizens are expected to receive unbiased treatment by the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, whose judges including the Chief Justice are appointed by the head of state.

This is even more stacked in fledgeling democracies such as Sierra Leone, where everything is politicised and the scales of justice are heavily weighed in favour of the ruling party and the head of state.

President Bio is a party to this constitutional matter that is before the Supreme Court. He took the matter to the Supreme Court, and there is little doubt about his expectation of the outcome. Who pays the piper calls the tune.

On 10 August 2026, Speaker of Parliament – Segepoh Solomon Thomas, declared that the amended constitution put forward by the government had achieved parliamentary approval, after ruling that a simple majority of members present and voting was enough, in accordance with Section 91 of the 1991 Constitution, causing the opposition APC members of parliament to walk out.

The Bill has not yet become law because President Julius Maada Bio has not signed it. Instead he has asked the Supreme Court for an interpretation of section 91 of the 1991 Constitution.

Opposition APC members of parliament including Abdul Timbo, also took the matter to the Supreme Court, represented by Joseph Kamara requesting an interpretation of Sections 91 and 108.

Few had expected the arrest of Joseph Kamara on the orders of the Chief Justice yesterday at the Supreme Court, in a country that is at the brink of political chaos and anarchy.

Komba Kamanda is believed to be a close ally and confidante of President Bio. He is also a patron of the ruling SLPP party. Last year, Justice Komba Kamanda was appointed Chairman of the Judicial Council of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following the election of President Julius Maada Bio as the Chairman of Heads of States and Governments of ECOWAS.

The ECOWAS Judicial Council is composed of all Chief Justices of the Community’s 15 Member States and serves as the Legal Advisory Body that supports the judicial arm of ECOWAS, including oversight over the operations of the ECOWAS Court of Justice. As Chairman, Chief Justice Kamanda presides over the Council’s deliberations, facilitate regional judicial cooperation, and provide leadership in advancing the rule of law, judicial independence, and integration across the sub-region.

By having Justice Kamanda at the helm of the ECOWAS Court, critics believe that Bio is ensuring that any case brought before the court during or after he has left office will be influenced by Justice Kamanda, given Bio’s very poor human rights record.

On 28 February 2026, Justice Komba Kamanda was appointed as a Judge of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL) in The Hague, Netherlands on the recommendation of President Julius Maada Bio, ensuring that any future case by the ICC against Maada Bio in the Hague, has the ear of Komba Kamanda.

On 25 June 2020, democracy was at work in Sierra Leone’s parliament, when the main opposition APC party, led by Chernoh Ramadan Maju Bah MP, voted against two of the eight presidential nominees put forward by president Julius Maada Bio for MPs approval.

The two nominees opposed by the APC members of parliament were – Justices Komba Kamanda and Alhaji Momojah Stevens.

According to the opposition APC, both Justices – serving at the High Court, were highly instrumental in helping the ruling SLPP in what the APC regarded as the continuous abuse of the constitution and judiciary powers by the SLPP government.

One APC MP said to the Sierra Leone Telegraph at the time: “Why should we approve them? Afterall, Justice Komba Kamanda is the infamous judge who removed ten of our elected APC MPs from their parliamentary seats and replaced them with unelected SLPP MPs. To this day we have not received justice, despite our appeal to the courts.”

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