Former SLBA PRO Warns Association Risks Splitting Into Three

Former Public Relations Officer of the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA), Alfred Kamanda, has warned that the Association could split into three factions, saying he sees no clear solution to the ongoing dispute within the legal body.

Speaking on Radio Democracy 98.1 FM, Kamanda said he was increasingly concerned about the direction of events and questioned whether the current crisis could be resolved without further division.

“The fact is, I am not seeing an end to this. There’s no solution going forward,” Kamanda said.

He said the situation could potentially lead to the emergence of three separate groups within the Bar Association, which he identified as the Lawyers Society, the Martina Baindu Egbenda camp, and the Adama Jabbie Tuma camp.

Kamanda described such a development as a serious concern for the legal profession, which he said has an important role in upholding justice, protecting rights, and defending the rule of law.

“This is a post-war nation. We have come from 11 years of civil conflict,” he said, warning that institutions that play a key role in national stability must be protected from divisions that could undermine public confidence.

He said lawyers have a special responsibility in society as defenders of justice and accountability, questioning how members of a profession known for protecting the rights of others could find themselves unable to access an event organised by their own professional association.

“Lawyers are people society knows; they know their rights and claim theirs,” Kamanda said, while expressing concern over the circumstances surrounding the disrupted AGM.

The former SLBA PRO stressed that the situation requires urgent attention and called for efforts to find a resolution that protects the reputation, unity, and stability of the Association.

Kamanda’s remarks follow the disruption of the Sierra Leone Bar Association’s Annual General Meeting last week, an incident that has generated public debate and raised concerns about the future direction of the Association.