Alimatu Jalloh
Pa Momoh Fofanah Esq. the lawyer representing the suspended Deputy Auditor General in the ongoing Audit Tribunal has said that the Tribunal lacks the jurisdiction to enquire into the professional work of his client, Tamba Momoh.
Lawyer Pa Momoh Fofanah raised the issues while moving an application to that effect on Monday 17th October, 2022 at the High Court, at Siaka Stevens Street in Freetown.
The Auditor General, Lara Taylor Pearce, and one of her deputies, Tamba Momoh, had been suspended in 2021, as a result of alleged professional misconduct which resulted in the constitution of the aforementioned Tribunal to look into certain excesses alleged against the Auditor General Lara Taylor Pearce and her Deputy, Tamba Momoh.
The Notice of Motion, dated 6th June 2022, was filed on behalf of Deputy Auditor General, Tamba Momoh.
Lawyer Fofanah furthered that the Tribunal lacked the jurisdiction to investigate, enquire or determine anything which pertained to both for the following under mentioned reasons:
That the relevant law governing the establishment and operations of the Tribunal which is sub-section (1) of section 119 of the 1991 Constitution does not apply or cover the applicant, due to the fact that his terms of reference is with Audit Service Sierra Leone and its 2014 Act.
Secondly, citing the Audit Service Act of 2014, Lawyer Fofanah said, it is only the Board of Audit Service Sierra Leone that could enquire into or discipline its employees, based on their terms of reference.
He went further to tell the panel that Tamba Momoh was not an Auditor General of Sierra Leone, as he had not been appointed by the President nor approved by Parliament.
According to Lawyer Fofanah, his client had been appointed by the Board of Audit Service. He went ahead and tendered several items as exhibits, including some letters from the Secretary to the President, as well as the Audit Handbook to support his application.
In response, lawyers representing the state, led by Osman Kanu, noted that the essence of the Tribunal was to enquire on alleged issues of professional misconduct both auditors had been involved in.
Lawyer Fofanah added that there was no way such Tribunal may have lacked jurisdiction to probe into such matter, citing section 137 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone which he said provides the Tribunal with its mandate to so do.
Together with Justice Ivan Sesay and Lahai Momoh Farma, the Chairman of the Panel of Legal experts, Madam Nyawo Martturi -Jones assured that the panel will conduct the hearing on simple fact and law, and added that the Panel had reserved a ruling on the application. She furthered that notices will be sent to both parties when the Panel’s ruling on the matter is ready.