A total of three female and 12 males have received a post graduate diploma course in Judicial and Legal studies at the Freetown High court No 1 Law courts building.
Two of the graduands Idrissa Kargbo received a package for best student and Festus Robin-Taylor won a package for punctuality in class.
They were taught 15 subjects in six months.
Speaking at the ceremony over the weekend, the acting Chief Justice Umu Hawa Tejan- Jalloh said that the events make a land mark in the Justice sector in Sierra Leone.
She added that, the graduands will be shortly deployed to provide service in the justice sector – to prevent delays in trials and to clear backlog of cases.
Justice Umu Hawa-Tejan Jalloh urged them to apply themselves diligently so that they will become role models in society.
In his statement the Deputy course director – Wordsworth Filo Jones Esq said that, these graduands will fill the huge gap in the judiciary, adding that “we need a lot more legal executives to fill this gap.”
He maintained that, the course has been a success since it is the first set of people who have graduated from the course.
In his keynote address UNDP Resident Representative Samuel Nyambe said that his organization see this course as a solution to fill the critical shortage in the justice sector.
Mr. Nyambe said that this initiative has been part of the United Nations Peace Building Fund (UNPBF) support to Sierra Leone in supporting the judicial sector.
The Resident Representative stated that the ceremony is one of the key achievements that opens the way forward to satisfy the needs of the Justice sector but to ensure that the human potential is captured and put to use.
The Interim Director of the Sierra Leone Law School Justice Bankole Johnson said that the graduands are expected to serve in the Judiciary as researchers, legal advisers, magistrates, legal executives and Judges.
In her maiden statement one of the graduands Ms Viola Dagma Johnson thanked the UNPBF and the UNDP Resident Representative for responding to call by the government of Sierra Leone and the judiciary organized such a course. The project was funded by the UNPBF and the government of Sierra Leone – a project for capacity development of the Justice system to prevent delays in trials and to clear backlog cases.
By Abibatu Kamara
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