The Commissioner, National Electoral Commission. Northern Region & ANOR V The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development & ORS (CIV APP 4 of 2014) [2014] SLCA 8 (4 July 2014)

; er : CIV.APP 4/2014 INTHE COURT OF APPEAL OF SIERRA LEONE, BETWEEN: THE COMMISSIONER ‘THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION, NORTHERN REGION AND. ‘THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION TOWER HILL FREETOWN -APPELLANTS AND ‘THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT — -1°' RESPONDENT ‘THE PROVINCIAL SECRETARY -2\° RESPONDENT NORTHERN REGION ABU THULLAH -3*° RESPONDENT AND E HASSAN THULLA BA-BAI LESLIE BAYROH EDWARD THULLAH ABDUL RAHMAN THULLAH -PETITIONERS/RESPONDENTS, ‘ARUNA THULLAH. ‘ABDUL P. THULLAH WILLIAM THULLAH MOMODU S. KAMARA TAMID KANU ALL OF MALAL MARA CHIEFDOM

Coram

HON. MRS. JUSTICE N. F. MATTURI-JONES, J. A. HON. MRS. JUSTICE A. SHOWERS J.A. HON. MR. JUSTICE A. S. FOPANAH, J COUNSEL: Miss. B. E. T. Cummings for the Appellant L. M. Farmer Esq. O. Kanu Esq. Miss A. Suwu and P. Ade Williams Esq. for the Respondents, No representation on behalf of the Petitioners/Respondents

JUDGMENT DELIVERED THE_)"* DAY OF 2014

The National Electoral Commission (NEC), the Appellants herein have filed as

a Notice of Appeal dated 11" February 2014 against the decision of the High

Court (Mr. Justice J. B. Allieu) contained in his Ruling dated 30 January

The grounds of appeal are as follows

a) That the Learned Judge erred in law and in fact when he ruled on the issues of Revision of the Gazette List and the Declaration of Rights when the application before him was for the grant of an Injunction. The issues of the Revision of the Gazette List and the Declaration of

. Rights cannot be properly determined on affidavit evidence. ‘ b) That the Learned Judge erred in law and in fact when he failed to hear

the 3% and 4" Respondent on the issues of Gazetting the List of Chiefdom Councillors and the Declaration of Rights (by the calling of witnesses to testify in court) before making such an Order on the issues, thus totally ignoring the rules of natural justice, “audi alteram partem.”

©) That the Leamed Judge erred in law when he failed to give due importance to s. 4 (3) of the Chieftainey Act 2009, Act No. 10 of

. by t B 4) That there was no credible evidence before the High Court that the names of Councillors that were born and bred of Malal Mara were included in the List of Chiefdom Councillors. ¢) That the Leamed Judge erred in law when he failed to consider that the Appellant is a Commission established under s. 33 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991 and that it has the power to make regulations and procedures for the conduct of elections and cannot be bound by a specific date to do so. {) That the Appellant be granted leave to file additional grounds of appeal. 4 The Relief sought from the court was that the Order of the Court below . dated 30 January 2014 and all subsequent proceedings be set aside and that the Appellant be given a reasonable period within which they should conduct elections taking into consideration that certain internal procedures, mechanisms and logistics have to be put in place before the conduct of the said elections. ‘The background to the appeal is that the Petitioners are Chiefdom Tribal ‘Authorities of Malal Mara Chiefdom Tonkolili District in the Northem Province of the Republic of Sierra Leone. They are all Aspirants to the Paramount Chieftaincy Elections at Malal Mara Chiefdom which was scheduled to take place on the 6" December, 2013.

: bs

‘The Petitioner alleged that on the 8° November 2013 at Rochen Malal Mara Chiefdom, the Provincial Secretary, Norther Province summoned all

Aspirants for the said Paramount Chieftainey Elections of Malal Mara

Chiefdom for a Declaration of Rights at the N. A. Court Barray. That prior

to this Declaration, nine Aspirants, the Petitioners/Respondent herein

through one of the said Aspirants, HAMID KANU had sent a letter of

petition dated 24" September 2013 addressed to the District Officer with a

copy to the Provincial Secretary, Northern Region. That they also addressed

a follow up letter dated 29" October 2013 signed by all the nine Aspirants

and sent to the District Officer.

The contents of the said letter include the following complaints.

“q) That the Chiefdom Councillors list brought by the Provincial

° Secretary was increased from three hundred and seventy three to five

: hundred and thirty nine Councillors without the consent of the headman and section chief that have the mandate to do so and that some of the Councillors included were not born and bred in Malal Mara Chiefdom but imported from the nearby Chiefdoms, to name a few DANIEL A. BANGURA, PA KAPRI KANU Etc.

b) That as a result of this increase and the inclusion of new members, former Councillors who are presently active in the Chiefdom affairs were omitted from the list,

©) That these names were included in the list unknowingly to be Section Chief, Town Chief and Headmen”

The pages read for this report end here. The judgment continues in the PDF.