Chief Justice Orders Release of Trader Convicted for Insulting Magistrate

The Chief Justice of Sierra Leone, Komba Kamanda, has ordered the release of a petty trader who had been serving a sentence after being convicted of insulting a magistrate.

The trader, Madam Fatmata Kamara, popularly known as “Mammy Iye,” was arraigned before the York Magistrate Court on two counts of public insult and provocation, contrary to Sections 2 and 3(1) of the Public Order Act, 1965. She pleaded guilty to the charges and was subsequently convicted and sentenced.

According to the Private Criminal Summons, the incident occurred on 5 March 2026 at a welding shop in New Jersey Junction, Goderich, Freetown, where the complainant a magistrate had gone to purchase food from the accused.

Kamara spent one week at the Female Correctional Centre before her release was ordered by the Chief Justice pursuant to Section 5 of the Summary Review Act, Cap 17 of the Laws of Sierra Leone (1960). The law empowers the Chief Justice to review decisions and judgments of Magistrates’ Courts without the need for a formal appeal.

The order effectively brought her sentence to an end, underscoring the Chief Justice’s supervisory authority over lower courts.