By Abu Shaw
A Kangaroo Tribunal Set to Try the Auditor General Despite BAN Calling on President Bio to Rescind
By a press release (20/11/2021)
A Kangaroo Tribunal has been set up by the failed President Julius Maada Bio to try the Auditor General and her Deputy despite massive opposition.
Autocracy and dictatorship, the hallmark of President Bio’s corrupt SLPP regime since 2018, have manifested around the last credible government institution i.e. the Audit Office Sierra Leone. Last week, the respected Auditor-General Mrs Lara Taylor-Pearce and one of her four Deputies Mr Tamba Momoh were sacked (even though the government said Indefinite Suspension), in dubious circumstances. The dismissal comes a few weeks before the release of the Audit Report 2020 which President Bio has deemed unpalatable to him and his wife Fatima Jabbe Bio. (Photo: The underfire Auditor-General Mrs Lara Taylor-Pearce).
As a consequence, the President had to jump the gun and suddenly sacked Lara and co. He then promised to set up a tribunal to look into the matter. Now that the Kangaroo Tribunal has been set up and three personalities have been appointed to adjudicate the matter, the majority of people in Sierra Leone have supported Lara and they believe she is credible and has always exhibited excellent characteristics. But the voices of the people no longer count as far as President Bio’s dictatorship government is concerned. A concerned citizen writes thus –
Auditor General Under Attack – Govt Sets Up Official Kangaroo Court to Try Lara and Tamba
A public notice issued by the government of Sierra Leone on November 17 announcing the names of individuals to serve in President Bio’s appointed tribunal to investigate the suspended Auditor-General and her deputy for ‘alleged misconduct and lack of professional performance’, has received mixed reactions from the public. The public notice mentioned Hon. Justice Nyawo Finda Matturi-Jones as Chairperson, Mr Lahai M Farma, and Mr Abu Bakarr King as members of the tribunal.
Public opinions suggest that the constitutive nature of the tribunal is like an ‘official Kangaroo Court’ where the outcome is already a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile, the public is also concerned that no time frame has been given for the newly constituted tribunal. According to the report, Lahai Farma is a government consultant at the Attorney General’s office while Abu Bakar King is a member of the Attorney General’s law firm. These two officials are now in a Catch-22 situation as their integrity and fairness in dispensing justice are being questioned in the court of public opinion. (Photo: Lara was sacked because she refused to remove the names of the President and his wife Fatima Bio from a fraud allegation in the 2020 Audit Report).
In this vein, outspoken human rights lawyer Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah has made bold to suggest that the tribunal has already been compromised and therefore cannot dispense justice fairly. Lawyer Marrah is concerned that two of the judges in the tribunal work directly with the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Anthony Brewah, in a case where the latter is the complainant. In like manner, a notable human rights advocate and law lecturer, Rashid Dumbuya Esq, has called on the President to reverse the appointment of Farma and King because of a seeming conflict of interest.
The Executive Director of Center for Accountability and Rule of Law Sierra Leone (CARL-SL) Ibrahim Tommy, had earlier advised the President to reverse his decision to suspend the Auditor General and her Deputy describing the action as unconstitutional. In addition, one of Sierra Leone’s finest Constitutional lawyers Charles Margai, who has been silent on national issues for a while now interpreted the decision to suspend Mrs Lara Taylor-Pearce and her Deputy as an abrogation of the constitution for which the President could be liable for impeachment.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-7357360780567964&output=html&h=345&adk=2282423035&adf=2098076385&pi=t.aa~a.3226763821~i.38~rp.4&w=414&lmt=1637481961&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=6457675062&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=414×345&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheorganiser.net%2Fsierra-leone%2F3788-a-kangaroo-tribunal-set-to-try-the-auditor-general-despite-ban-calling-on-president-bio-to-rescind&flash=0&fwr=1&pra=3&rh=321&rw=385&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&sfro=1&wgl=1&fa=27&dt=1637481964975&bpp=2&bdt=3243&idt=2&shv=r20211111&mjsv=m202111110101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D23def05b092661a8-222cf72dc4cb0079%3AT%3D1637106082%3ART%3D1637106082%3AS%3DALNI_MZeUISg_MRtxKBP84xMD6weWhsQxw&prev_fmts=0x0%2C414x90%2Cauto%2C414x345%2C414x345%2C414x345%2C414x345&nras=2&correlator=7653231424835&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=523544101.1637481964&ga_sid=1637481964&ga_hid=113723482&ga_fc=0&u_tz=-300&u_his=1&u_h=896&u_w=414&u_ah=896&u_aw=414&u_cd=32&u_sd=2&adx=0&ady=2987&biw=414&bih=707&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=31062422%2C31062938%2C31063736&oid=2&psts=AGkb-H-0rpjDzjefgJRgv4N_0FPH7cj_yWlZarK-wzJzwz2D8qyrA0KVoj1_FD1tFf0X6emmjZ_nPqDgJ_qo%2CAGkb-H9YK226zGhr7-81W_miZHyxWqH0nLnltQPbkIHveHnzd-LDNkIw5scM1F8YCmUEQhT5McHM52rCd568&pvsid=3098222064242428&pem=902&tmod=489739451&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C414%2C0%2C414%2C896%2C414%2C707&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=8&uci=a!8&btvi=5&fsb=1&xpc=n39BNeNfCo&p=https%3A//theorganiser.net&dtd=11
Charles Francis Margai stated that in no uncertain terms that the President’s action violates provisions in section 137 of the national constitution (Act No6 of 1991). When contacted to comment on the constitution of the tribunal, the legal representative of the suspended editor General, Roland Wright Esq, declined to make any statement at this initial stage on grounds that they are still monitoring the situation. State House Press Secretary Keketoma Sandi, assures that the tribunal will be open, fair and that the Auditor General is not above the law. Meanwhile, the public is also concerned that no time frame has been given for the newly constituted tribunal. Courtesy: Ticha Lemp Lemp.
BAN, Comprising of Six Civil Society Groups, Calls on President Bio to Rescind Suspension of Auditor General and Her Deputy
By Amin Kef-Ranger, Calabash Newspaper (Photo: BAN National Coordinator Abu Bakarr Kamara).
One of the country’s functioning and vibrant Civil Society Organisations, the Budget Advocacy Network BAN has succinctly pointed out in a public statement it put outdated the 13th November 2021 and signed by its members, which include: Christian Aid (CA), Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), Action Aid Sierra Leone (AASL), Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Network Movement for Justice (NMJD), Western Area Budget Education Advocacy Network (WABEAN) and Transparency International Sierra Leone, that its members are concerned about the indefinite suspension of the Auditor- General, Lara Taylor Pearce, and her Deputy, Tamba Momoh of the Audit Service Sierra Leone.
BAN stated that the decision came as a shock to the public especially since there is limited information for the action continuing how they are particularly worried that the action undermines public accountability which is fundamental for good governance and development. The Organisation continued that it further hampers efforts in maintaining fiscal discipline and accountable use of public resources. Members of BAN stated that the President should be reminded that Sierra Leone is committed to the African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance, which under Chapter (9) Article (33) indicate that: “State parties shall institutionalise good economic and corporate governance through effective and efficient Public Services; and through promoting transparency in Public Finance Management”.
“We want to state that the Audit Service Sierra Leone has over the years demonstrated high levels of financial probity and provided oversight on the use of public resources as evidence in the Open Budget Survey where its score for 2020 was 72% and as mandated by the 1991 constitution, with high levels of professionalism and acceptance of its work by citizens,” the members state pointing out that therefore in the area of auditing, ensuring effective financial management, performance and professionalism, the Audit Sierra Service Leone and the Auditor General are rated highly in the world.
BAN continued that the action is more disturbing when the country is looking forward to the release of the annual audit report by the Audit Service Sierra Leone. “We want to draw the attention of His Excellency to his Government’s commitment towards protecting the independence of the Audit Service Sierra Leone,” members of BAN said furthering that while they respect the authority of the President, citizens have the right to be informed of the reasons for the indefinite suspension of the Auditor General and Deputy to avoid misconceptions and misinformation amongst the Sierra Leonean population.
“Since there is no clear information on this decision, we kindly ask His Excellency the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone to reconsider this suspension of the Auditor General and her Deputy because it is not in line with what he promised to Sierra Leoneans in the New Direction Manifesto,” BAN stated adding that it is also not a good and popular action, especially when the country is doing well in the Control of Corruption indicator. “We therefore kindly ask His Excellency to rescind this decision in the spirit of national interest,” BAN appealed.
