Outgoing President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA), Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi Esq., has formally handed over the affairs of the Association to a caretaker team, stressing that the arrangement should remain temporary until free, fair, transparent and credible elections are conducted to determine the next leadership.
Speaking at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi described the circumstances surrounding the transition as difficult and unprecedented, maintaining that the electoral process intended to determine the Association’s new leadership was disrupted before voting could be completed.
Addressing Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay Esq., Deputy Minister of Justice Madam Saptieu Saccoh, Solicitor General Osman Kanu Esq., SLBA directors, lawyers and observers, Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi said members had originally assembled for their Annual General Meeting prepared to transact the Association’s business and peacefully elect its leaders.
She noted that although the contest was tense and competing visions had been presented to members, she entered the process confident in the record of her executive and its prospects of securing another mandate.
However, according to the outgoing SLBA President, the election did not take place after police officers disrupted the process and informed members that they were acting on “instructions from above.”
“No ballot was completed, no votes were counted and no candidate received a democratic mandate from the membership,” she maintained.
Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi said those circumstances should be clearly placed on record, arguing that a profession founded on evidence must ensure that its history is based on facts rather than conjecture.
She described the intervention in the electoral process as deeply troubling, stressing that the independence of the Bar should not be regarded merely as a privilege enjoyed by lawyers but as an important component of the institutional framework protecting the rule of law.
According to her, any situation in which lawyers are unable to freely regulate their professional affairs through lawful and peaceful elections raises broader concerns about institutional credibility and citizens’ confidence in the legal profession.
Despite the controversy, Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi urged members of the Association to exercise restraint and demonstrate the discipline expected of members of the legal profession.
She said the Bar should not respond to disruption with disorder, tension with recklessness or disappointment with conduct capable of undermining the dignity of the profession.
The outgoing President stated that all legitimate avenues would be pursued to safeguard the Association’s autonomy, establish the facts surrounding the disrupted process and ensure that credible elections are eventually held.
Against that background, she announced her decision to hand over the administration of the Association to a caretaker team pending fresh elections conducted in accordance with the SLBA’s governing instruments.
Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi stressed that her decision should not be interpreted as an admission that any candidate had won or lost the disrupted election.
“This handover must not be misunderstood. It is not an admission that an election was won or lost, because no election occurred,” she said.
She further maintained that the caretaker arrangement does not confer an electoral mandate on any individual or group, describing it instead as a temporary institutional measure aimed at preventing a leadership vacuum, safeguarding the Association’s assets and records, maintaining essential services and creating the conditions necessary for members to choose their leaders.
Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi consequently urged members of the caretaker team to restrict themselves to the responsibilities necessary to maintain continuity and prepare the SLBA for elections.
She said the caretaker administration’s tenure must be temporary, its decisions transparent and its conduct impartial, warning that the arrangement must never be transformed into an indefinite alternative to the democratic will of SLBA members.
Reflecting on her tenure, Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi expressed pride in the achievements recorded by her executive despite what she described as adversity and institutional strain.
She highlighted the expansion of scholarships and professional development opportunities that enabled lawyers to pursue specialized training at international institutions.
Her administration, she added, introduced a pension scheme for members, strengthened continuing legal education and capacity development, expanded partnerships and deepened engagement with the Judiciary.
She also pointed to the acquisition of land towards establishing a permanent SLBA secretariat, describing the initiative as an important step towards fulfilling a long-standing ambition of the Association, which she referred to as the oldest Bar in the ECOWAS sub-region.
According to Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi, those achievements are not merely campaign claims but “verifiable foundations” upon which future SLBA leaders should continue to build.
She expressed appreciation to members of her executive, SLBA staff, committees, partners, senior lawyers and members who provided criticism, advice and support throughout her tenure.
She also acknowledged candidates and their supporters who participated in the electoral process with the expectation that members would ultimately decide the leadership through the ballot.
Turning to the divisions generated by the disputed process, Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi appealed for unity within the legal profession and cautioned against allowing disagreements to create permanent divisions within the Association.
“Unity is not uniformity and disagreement is not disloyalty,” she said, maintaining that lawyers could disagree strongly while remaining committed to legality, professional courtesy and the collective dignity of the Bar.
She warned that a divided legal profession could find it difficult to effectively defend the wider interests of society, declaring that “a principled, independent, and united Bar can become a shield for justice and a conscience for the Republic.”
Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi said history would ultimately judge SLBA members not by the positions they occupied but by how they responded when the Association’s democratic process was interrupted.
She maintained that the responsibility of the profession is to defend principle without undermining peace, protect the Association without personalizing its institutions and ensure that the final authority to elect SLBA leaders returned to the membership.
The outgoing President said she was handing over the Association with a clear conscience and gratitude for the opportunity to serve, while maintaining her conviction that the future leadership of the SLBA must emerge through credible elections freely determined by its members.
“May wisdom guide the caretaker team. May courage sustain every member. May the rule of law prevail. And may the Sierra Leone Bar Association emerge from this difficult chapter stronger, more united and more resolute in the defence of justice,” Madam Tuma Adama Jabbi concluded.
