Justice Halloway Accuses Chief Justice of Rights Abuse
Freetown, 25th August 2025– In a revealing letter dated 11th August 2025, Hon. Justice Allan B. Halloway, Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC), accuses Chief Justice Komba Kamanda of systematically stripping him of constitutionally protected pay and benefits, moves he warns have become a direct threat to his life and livelihood. Halloway’s revelation paints a picture of a senior jurist pushed to the brink by the very institution sworn to safeguard his independence.
The correspondence confirms that on 16th July, Justice Halloway’s mid-month allowance was certified and ready for disbursement, only to be frozen on the Chief Justice’s instruction. At the NP Fuel Station on Sanders Street, his official debit card for judicial fuel rations was likewise “blocked,” halting deliveries crucial to his official duties.
These actions, Justice Halloway contends, violate Section 138(3) of the 1991 Constitution, which forbids any reduction to a superior-court judge’s salary, allowances or conditions of service “to his disadvantage.”
The timing could not have been more perilous. Days before his allowance was due, Halloway reveals that he had a medical condition requiring immediate medication to avert a potentially deadly coma.
“I developed an adverse medical condition for which certain drugs were prescribed for me. It was of paramount importance that I purchase and consume these drugs since failure to do so would have caused the spiking of my blood/sugar level, the same which could have led to a ‘Diabetic Coma’, he wrote.
Beyond the denial of his mid-month allowance, Justice Halloway reveals that he has been forced to cover SLL 10,300 in emergency vehicle repairs and SLL 15,322 in out-of-pocket medical bills, expenses the Judiciary’s own policy dictates should be reimbursed. He further noted that a substantial slice of his salary now goes toward stationery, running and maintaining his generator, and caring for his 83-year-old mother, leaving him squeezed financially and emotionally.
From the bench to behind the scenes, the pressure has only intensified. Justice Halloway claims he has been unconstitutionally removed from every Appeals and Supreme Court panels, effectively sidelining him without any formal suspension. Case files for a high-profile matter- CC 95/2019 between Derek Frederick Thomas and the Administrator and Registrar-General- were seized from him by order of the Chief Justice, further impeding his judicial function.
Justice Halloway insists that targeting his ‘LAWFUL’ source of livelihood is not only inhuman but a threat to his very existence
“You now unconstitutionally and without any reason whatsoever, target my ‘LAWFUL’ source of livelihood, which undisputedly, is inhuman of you, a threat to my very existence and is the worse form of your violations of my Rights as a Human Being.”
His letter recalls past abuses by former Chief Justices, but warns that nothing comes close to the severity of Chief Justice Kamanda’s alleged campaign.
As the most senior judge on the Superior Courts, Halloway says he cannot remain silent while his colleagues privately tremble at Justice Kamanda’s reactions to criticism. He vows to seek redress which he is entitled to, both in accordance with the Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991 and in accordance with the African Charter On Human and Peoples Rights, if the Chief Justice fails to adequately address his concerns.
The judiciary of Sierra Leone promised to put out a statement addressing the allegations but
With this dramatic exposé, Justice Halloway lays bare the fragility of judicial independence in Sierra Leone. His battle is no longer just about pay or fuel, it is a fight to preserve the rule of law and protect every judge from the weaponization of power at the highest levels. The question now looms: will the Judiciary answer his call for justice, or allow its own Court to crumble from within?
