High Court Rejects Application to Stop Njaluahun Chieftaincy Election
The High Court has refused an application seeking to halt the Njaluahun Paramount Chieftaincy Election, leaving the requested interim injunctions ungranted ahead of the poll scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
The application was filed by one of the candidates, Dr. Momoh Gbetuwa, through his counsel, seeking an interim injunction to restrain the first, second and third respondents from proceeding with the election in Njaluahun Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Eastern Sierra Leone.
The matter was heard at the Guma Building in Freetown by Honourable Justice Alhaji Mohamed Momoh-Jah Stevens, a Court of Appeal judge sitting at the High Court.
Dr. Gbetuwa’s counsel filed an ex parte Originating Notice of Motion seeking several forms of relief, including an order preventing the election from proceeding.
In refusing the application, Justice Momoh-Jah Stevens emphasised that an injunction is a discretionary remedy and that the court must consider whether the parties have been sufficiently heard before granting such an order.
“With the process of injunction, it is a discretionary remedy by a Court, and I can only grant it when everyone has been sufficiently heard,” the judge stated.
The court subsequently refused Orders 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 sought in the Originating Notice of Motion dated September 28, 2026.
The application had sought to restrain the respondents from proceeding with the Paramount Chieftaincy Election. However, the court’s decision means the interim orders requested by Dr. Gbetuwa were not granted.
According to information released by the Judiciary, the election remains scheduled for Wednesday, September 30.
The ruling comes a day before the scheduled poll in Njaluahun Chiefdom, where candidates are contesting for the position of Paramount Chief. The court’s stated reasoning centred on the discretionary nature of injunctions and the need for parties to be sufficiently heard before such orders are granted.
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