Honourable Justice Augustine K. Musa
By Emma Black
The High Court of Sierra Leone has declined a request to halt the upcoming paramount chieftaincy election in Barri Chiefdom, Pujehun District, Southern Province. Presiding Judge Honourable Justice Augustine K. Musa refused to grant an interim injunction sought by a group of concerned stakeholders led by Lahai Bockeria Magona.
The application for the injunction was filed by Lawyer Augustine S. Marrah on behalf of Magona and nine others. The plaintiffs had requested the court to stop the election, scheduled for May 19, 2025, citing procedural irregularities that they argued could disenfranchise legitimate voters and undermine the integrity of the election.
During his submission, Lawyer Marrah alleged that the first, second, and third respondents the Minister of Local Government, the District Officer, and the Provincial Secretary respectively had introduced alien procedures into the preliminary stages of the chieftaincy election process. These irregularities, he claimed, included discrepancies in the issuance of tax receipts and Tribal Authority documentation, key requirements for voter eligibility and participation in the election.
Marrah further explained that his clients had taken all necessary steps to address these concerns through official channels, including reaching out to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. However, their efforts to ensure compliance with established procedures reportedly yielded no results. He argued that allowing the election to proceed under such questionable circumstances would legitimize procedural violations and potentially disenfranchise several taxpayers in the chiefdom.
In seeking the interim injunction, Marrah assured the court that his clients were prepared to accept any undertaking or compensation requirements should the court later find the injunction to have been wrongly granted.
However, in his ruling, Hon. Justice Musa rejected the application on legal grounds. Referring to Order 29(1) of the Annual Supreme Court Practice 1999 commonly known as the white Book he noted that the applicants had failed to satisfy key procedural requirements necessary for granting injunctive relief.
Justice Musa emphasized that while Order 29(3) allows for certain exceptions in urgent cases, the absence of a draft or proposed originating summons attached to the application was a fundamental procedural flaw. Without that crucial document, the court could not make an informed ruling on the merits of the case, I must state that in the absence of the originating summons or draft of same which is fundamental to applications of this nature the orders sought herein should be refused, Justice Musa stated, as a result, the paramount chieftaincy election in Barri Chiefdom will proceed as scheduled on May 19, 2025.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on Friday, May 21st, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
