Former Attorney General Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara Released After Five Days in Custody

Former Sierra Leone Attorney General Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara was released from prison on 13 October after spending five days in custody, according to The Sierra Leone Telegraph.

Kamara, who is acting as senior counsel for the opposition All Peoples’ Congress Party, was expected to return to the Supreme Court in Freetown as proceedings resumed in a constitutional dispute.

Constitutional amendment dispute

The case involves arguments by government lawyers and lawyers representing the APC over a decision by the Speaker of Parliament. The decision concerned whether a two-thirds vote of all elected members of Parliament was required to amend Sierra Leone’s Constitution.

The outcome of the proceedings was not provided in the report.

Arrest followed courtroom dispute

Reports from Freetown cited by The Sierra Leone Telegraph said Kamara was arrested in court the previous week on the orders of Chief Justice Komba Kamanda.

The report said the arrest and detention followed a heated argument between Kamanda and Kamara over legal procedural matters. Kamanda ordered Kamara’s arrest after the dispute, according to the account.

Kamara later apologized and withdrew his remarks, but the report said Kamanda did not accept the apology and retraction.

The Sierra Leone Telegraph also reported that many people viewed the summary custodial sentence as an abuse of the Chief Justice’s authority. The report did not identify those individuals.

Kamara was expected to continue advocating for the APC when he returned to the Supreme Court.