Attorney General Intervenes, Directs SLBA to Hold AGM as Executive Tenure Ends

Freetown, 8^th June 2026– The Attorney General and Minister of Justice has issued a stern directive to the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA), ordering the immediate withdrawal of its indefinite postponement of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and warning that the current Executive’s mandate has expired.

In a letter dated 2 June 2026, addressed to the SLBA President, the Attorney General emphasized that the Executive, which assumed office on 17 May 2024, legally ceased to hold substantive authority on 17 May 2026. Citing Article 20 of the Association’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, he noted that the two-year tenure had lapsed, leaving the Executive as a caretaker body restricted to routine administrative functions.

The Attorney General further argued that Article 22’s holdover provision applies only to the President and is intended for brief transitional continuity, not indefinite extension of power. “In law, the current Executive is therefore a caretaker body, restricted to routine administrative functions and incapable of making substantive corporate decisions,” the letter stated.

The indefinite postponement of the AGM announced on 1 June 2026, he warned, contravenes Section 185(1) of the Companies Act, 2009, which requires every company to hold an AGM annually, with no more than fifteen months between meetings. “An indefinite postponement is tantamount to cancellation and constitutes a breach of statute,” the Attorney General wrote.

Directing compliance, he ordered the SLBA leadership to immediately withdraw the postponement notice and announce a specific date for the AGM, stressing that governance decisions rest exclusively with the membership assembled in General Meeting. “The AGM belongs to the membership, not the Executive,” he declared, adding that only members or the High Court can decide on substantive governance matters.

The Attorney General cautioned that failure to comply would undermine the Association’s credibility in advocating for the rule of law. “The Sierra Leone Bar cannot credibly advocate for the rule of law in the courts and in national discourse while simultaneously undermining it within its own institution,” he warned.

The Attorney General concluded by reminding the SLBA that several legal and constitutional options remain available to enforce compliance if necessary.