Freetown 27th March 2026— The legal team representing defendant’s rapper Alhaji Amadu Bah (LAJ) and Ibrahim Koroma for failure to appear in court in Bo in an ongoing matter before the Bo Magistrate Court has strongly objected to the use of WhatsApp as a means of serving criminal summonses, describing the process as “irregular, invalid, and of no legal effect.”
In a formal letter addressed to the Court Registrar, Managing Partner Madieu Sesay Esq. argues that service of criminal summonses via WhatsApp or other social media platforms is not recognised under Sierra Leone’s Criminal Procedure Act 2024.
Sections 21 and 22 of the Act, he notes, expressly mandate personal service on a defendant, or service through the Magistrate in the jurisdiction where the defendant resides if outside the issuing court’s territory.
Sesay stressed that his clients, who reside in Freetown, were never personally served and that no application was made to route service through the appropriate Magistrate in Freetown. He further contended that the affidavit of service filed in Bo, which claimed service via WhatsApp, was therefore defective.
“Any proceedings commenced or continued on the basis of such purported service are, in our respectful submission, a nullity,” Sesay wrote, urging the Registrar to bring the irregularity to the immediate attention of the presiding Magistrate.
The correspondence calls for strict compliance with the law before any further steps are taken in the proceedings. Sesay emphasised that his clients remain available to engage further should clarification or additional information be required.
