Sierra Leone-Freetown: In a matter between Alfred Peter Conteh and the All People’s Congress Party (APC), Justice Adrian Fisher has ordered the Secretary General of the APC, Ambassador Alhaji Osman Yansanneh and the APC party as a whole to hold an emergency National Delegates Conference between 17th and 19th September 2021.
The Learned Judge issued this order, whilst ruling on an application made by the defendant (APC) in the said matter.
Prior to the orders Justice Fisher noted that “On the available evidence before me, there has been no compliance with any of the orders by the defendant, save for the payment of cost, for which I have non-compliance or compliance.”
In his findings also Justice Fisher said the emergency National Delegates Conference has not been held within the 55 days as required by the order, even though it was the defendants themselves that requested for a variation of the injunction order to facilitate the process of holding the emergency National Delegates Conference.
He furthered that the first defendant was ordered to prepare a full list and submit the same to the fourth defendant no later than 4pm on the 9th July 2021, and this has not been compiled with.
“Having found that defendant are already in breach of the orders of the court dated 19th April 2021, I do not accept the explanations provided by the 2nd defendant, on the basis that the evidence given on oath is inconsistent with his earlier sworn testimony in his affidavit and is therefore unreliable and not credible.”
Justice Fisher then issued the following orders, among which are that the second defendant, National Secretary General, shall provide unfettered access to the resources of the third defendant party that will facilitate the smooth operations of the Committee.
He furthered that there shall be an emergency delegates conference technically planning committee consisting of 21 members, whose sole function shall be to undertake the planning and preparation, leading up to the emergency National Delegates Conference and whose composition, plaintiff shall nominate four representatives, one of whom shall be the Secretary to the committee, the third defendant shall nominate nine representatives plus the chairs, who shall not be members of the current executive, the diaspora membership of the party shall be entitled to nominate three representatives to serve on the committee.
He also said that the so called “big six” shall be entitled to nominate two members to serve on the committee. He also stated that the second defendant, National Secretary General shall publish copy of the original draft Constitution as submitted by the Constitutional Review Committee in two daily national newspapers with wide circulation within 7 days of this order.
And also the second defendant shall publish the final delegates list on Wednesday 8th September 2021.
It may be recalled Alfred Peter Conteh took the APC and their Secretary General and Chairman to Court for alleged party irregularities including going beyond their mandates. The matter has been adjourned to 4th October 2021 for continuation of the matter.
MJB/10/8/2021
By [email protected]