By: Miracle Seer
Sierra Leone Bar Association presidential candidate, Martina Baindu Egbenda Esq., has continued her nationwide engagement tour with a consultative meeting involving Benchers and legal practitioners in Bo City and Kenema.
Mohamed Monya Sheriff Esq., Head of Chambers, alongside members of the Kakua Chamber of Nine warmly received her. In his welcome remarks, Monya Sheriff Esq. highlighted that the Southern lawyers comprise 55 members who are not only committed to legal practice but are also passionate about community service and national development.
Presenting her vision for the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Madam Martina Egbenda emphasized that unity remains the cornerstone of her campaign. She pledged to build One Bar, One Voice, and One Profession, ensuring that all lawyers, regardless of their location, have equal access to opportunities, training, scholarships, and professional advancement.
She further underscored the need for lawyers to play a more active role in justice sector reforms, strengthen collaboration with the Sierra Leone Police, and contribute meaningfully to national development initiatives and legal practitioners from all regions must be adequately represented in critical national processes, including the ongoing constitutional review exercise, rather than limiting participation to lawyers based in the Western Area.
She called for a Bar Association where lawyers are united in purpose, respected for their ideas, valued for their service, and steadfast in defending the rule of law.
A.I. Karim Esq., Head of George, Karim, & Associates -Lubaya Chambers expressed dissatisfaction
concern that provincial lawyers especially in South have been marginalized and excluded from important professional development opportunities, including recent training on the Criminal Procedure Act, 2024. He also criticized the Bar Association’s increasing focus on social events, he termed the growing culture of Pub and pageantry within the Association arguing that it has come at the expense of the profession’s core values, standards, and responsibilities.
Jack Harris Esq. asked Martina Egbenda how she would balance her current public office with the responsibilities of serving as Bar Association President if elected. He also called for sustained engagement with regional lawyers, emphasizing inclusiveness, capacity building, and equal participation for practitioners across the country.
S.M. Metzger Esq. moved an application of the creation of a unified digital platform to enhance communication and collaboration among lawyers across Sierra Leone, regardless of regional affiliation for Martina Egbenda’s campaign.
Speaking on behalf of lawyers present in court in Kenema, J.B. Dauda Esq. thanked Martina Egbenda Esq. for her visit to Kenema and assured her that her message would be conveyed to colleagues, while noting concerns regarding the closure of fee payments.
B.J. Adu Esq., Head of Sierra Legal Advocates in Kenema, criticized the current Bar leadership for neglecting regional lawyers and excluding them from key opportunities. He commended Martina Egbenda for engaging directly with lawyers in the provinces and pledged his support for her candidacy, describing her as a unifying leader capable of reforming the Sierra Leone Bar Association.
Responding to concerns raised during the engagement, Egbenda assured Southern and Eastern practitioners that her leadership would promote inclusiveness, transparency, and equal opportunities for all members of the profession.
