Sierra Leone News: Commission of Inquiry Counsel to limit witness examinations to 75-minutes

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At Commission 65, Commissioner Rosolu John Bankole Thompson included a supplementary rule as part of the Practice Direction promulgated by the Commissioners of Commission of Inquiry (COI) No.1, 2, and 3. On Thursday 6 June 2019, the Commissioner ordered that both Counsel should, with immediate effect, limit witnesses testifying before the Commission to one-hour and fifteen-minutes for examination-in-chief and cross-examination. The Practice Directions dated 31st January 2019, sets out certain established guidelines for regulating the proceedings of Commissions of Inquiry established pursuant to Constitutional Instruments Nos. 64 inquiry 65, and 67 of 2018. The COI are empowered to make, adopt and adapt rules to regulate their proceedings.

Commissioner Thompson stated, “It is highly desirable and justifiable; and also expedient for the ends of justice, specifically as regards the expected normative and other outcomes from Commissions of Inquiry as instruments of democratic accountability, that the proceedings be conducted with utmost regard for fairness and expeditiousness, as two key norms of contemporary justice processes, be they criminal, civil, administrative, or otherwise.” Lawyer for the State, Robert B. Kowa, and Lawyer Lansana Dumbuya (for former Agric. Minister Monty Patrick Jones, and other named Interested Persons on record) argued in his Chambers on the critical issue of effective time management and expeditiousness in the conduct of the Commission’s hearings. He was persuaded that it is imperative, given the voluminous and complex nature of the anticipated workload of the hearings and proceedings of the Commission, coupled with the fact of the severe resource constraints under which the Commission is functioning, that due regard is paid to the need for judicial expediency. The Judge’s ruling was necessitated by an application made on Wednesday 5 June 2019 by Lawyer Kowa for effective time management of hearings. During the submission of his request to the Judge, he stressed the need for speedy examinations by both Lawyers as he has about eight more Ministries to investigate. “I would not want to say it is totally disadvantageous on the part of the prosecution for cross-examination to be done for about fifteen hours in my estimation. Today, we spent five hours on one witness. It is unfair on the part of the prosecution and that will affect our case,” lawyer Kowa said. “We have several issues under the Ministry of Agriculture to be dealt with, so we need to devise a time management procedure, that both can abide to. I do not mind presenting my case in not more than an hour.” The Commissioner based his ruling on the following relevant constitutional and statutory enactments; Section 150 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991; section 9 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act (Cap 5) of the Laws of Sierra Leone 1960; the High Court Rules of Sierra Leone, dated the 31st day of May 2007; Section 6(1) of Constitutional Instrument No. 65 of 2018, the Justice Rosolu John Bankole Thompson Commission of Inquiry, as established thereunder and duly passed into law by the Republic of Sierra Leone Parliament of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

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