Bar Aspirant Accuses Attorney General of Interference in SLBA Elections

Bar Aspirant Accuses Attorney General of Interference in SLBA Elections

Ibrahim Faya Sawaneh, a candidate for Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA), has accused Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay of compromising the association's electoral integrity. 

Sawaneh alleges that political influence was leveraged to obstruct members from accessing the election venue.

In response to the disruption of the SLBA Annual General Meeting (AGM), Sawaneh claimed that the Attorney General directed the Sierra Leone Police to deny members entry to the conference hall. He characterized the intervention as a significant "abuse of power."

"I will say it, and let the world hear this: this is an abuse of power," Sawaneh stated during the incident. 

He explicitly alleged that "the Attorney General Alpha Sesay gave these instructions to the Sierra Leone Police."

The disruption has intensified concerns regarding the institutional independence of the Bar Association and the transparency of its voting procedures. Legal practitioners and observers are now debating the implications for the professional body's future and the legitimacy of its internal governance.

Questions surrounding external influence have dominated the discourse following the halted AGM, as members were unable to complete the scheduled agenda. The standoff highlights growing tensions between state authorities and the legal profession.

The Office of the Attorney General has not yet issued a statement in response to Sawaneh's allegations.