By Alimatu Jalloh
The Supreme Court of Sierra Leone, presided by the Honourable Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards has on Thursday dismissed the recusal application made by Charles Francis Margai, Solicitor and Counsel for Patrick John and the PMDC (1st and 2nd Plaintiffs) against the Hon. Chief Justice and Hon. Justice Ansumana Ivan Sesay on procedural grounds.
The panel, which included the Hon. Chief Justice (JSC), Hon. Justice Nicholas C. Browne-Marke(JSC), Hon. Justice M. F. Deen-Tarawally (JSC), Hon. Justice Alusine S. Sesay (JSC) and Hon. Justice Ansumana Ivan Sesay (JA) was unanimous in their decision.
The matter was instituted by Patrick John and the Peoples Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) against the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohammed Konneh, the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
According to the Justices, CF. Margai, after announcing representation on the date of hearing of the action “amidst much rudeness and charade,” made an application for the presiding Judge, the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Ivan Sesay (JA) to recuse themselves from the case.
Submitting the grounds of his application, Margai Esq. argued that “the Chief Justice swore the President-elect as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone with such rapidity which presupposes that the Chief Justice was either cognizant of the result before it was officially declared or premonitious of same.”
He went on to state, “My Lord Chief Justice, I want to believe that as a reasonable intellectual, you must have presumed, or if not, certified yourself that the process leading up to the declaration that Julius Maada Bio is the elected President was regular; and if that assumption is correct, then I submit, it would be unconscionable and perhaps a conflict of interest to be a member of this panel, let alone presiding Judge, where the issues for determination border on the proprietary of the process leading to the declaration.”
Mr. Charles Margai’s attention was drawn by the Court to the fact that the application for recusal ought to be by motion, which he chose to ignore and instead continued with the application notwithstanding.
Replying to Mr. Margai’s authorities, the Chief Justice cited Section 122(2) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, which he said gives the Supreme Court the liberty to not only treat its own previous decisions as normally binding, but to also depart from a previous decision when it appears right to do so.
The Chief Justice noted that application for recusal of a Judge or Justices from a lawsuit has to be made by motion supported by Affidavit evidence, adding that, “this has not been done, the oral application is therefore dismissed.”
The Hon. Chief Justice in agreement with his colleagues concluded that, C.F. Margai is at liberty to file such a motion within ten (10) days from today’s date, failing which “we shall proceed with the hearing of the substantive action”.