Freetown, 10th December, 2025– The High Court of Sierra Leone, presided over by Justice A. T. Ganda, JA, has today Wednesday 10th December 2025 declined to hear an application filed by lawyer Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah and others seeking to restrain the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) from holding its scheduled extraordinary meeting to elect representatives to the General Legal Council (GLC).
Court officials reported that when the defendants attempted to move the application, counsel for the plaintiffs objected, arguing that they had not been given the required two clear days’ notice. They explained that service had only been effected on Monday, December 8.
The defendants countered that they had tried to serve the application on Friday, December 5, but the plaintiffs had been unavailable, forcing them to complete service on Monday morning. They reminded the court that in July 2024, a similar application from the plaintiffs had been heard without the two-day notice requirement, and urged that the same discretion be applied in their case.
The applicants further relied on the Supreme Court authority CIV. APP. 4/2007 (Basma v. Wanza), submitting that strict adherence to procedural rules should not override the interests of justice. In the alternative, they requested an interim order to halt the election and preserve the status quo.
