Illness Claim Contradicted as Parliament Says Speaker Thomas Was on Official Trip Abroad
Ben Bassey Parliament has contradicted a court statement by SLPP MP Hon. Hindolo Moiwo Gevao, raising questions over why Speaker Segepoh Solomon Thomas missed a key Supreme Court hearing on the Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The contradiction unfolded Wednesday when Hon. Hindolo Gevao Esq. told the five-member Supreme Court panel that the Speaker was absent due to diarrhoea and was on medical grounds. Hours later, Parliament’s Parliamentary and Public Relations Department issued a statement dismissing illness reports as “completely unfounded” .
According to Parliament, Speaker Thomas was out of the jurisdiction on official assignment in Conakry, Guinea, attending the State Opening of the 10th Legislature of the 5th Republic of Guinea. The statement added that he “need not attend the hearing as the State is properly represented“.
The Supreme Court hearing concerns legal challenges to the Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2025, which Parliament claims to have passed on August 10, 2026 . Speaker Thomas presided over that sitting and is named as a defendant in one of the cases before the Court.
The central dispute revolves around whether Parliament met the two-thirds majority requirement under Section 108(2)(b) of the 1991 Constitution, which requires at least 100 of the 149 MPs to approve constitutional amendments. The APC and other applicants argue that only 96 members supported the Bill after opposition MPs walked out.
Wednesday’s proceedings marked the first-ever live broadcast of a constitutional case in Sierra Leone, with the Independent Radio Network relaying proceedings to over 40 radio stations nationwide following approval by Chief Justice Komba Kamanda.
Chief Justice Kamanda issued two key rulings during the sitting: allowing the Attorney-General to be heard despite not filing a Statement of Case, and granting the Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice (IRLAJ) leave to join as a party.
The Court adjourned to Thursday, October 8, at 10:00 a.m. for continued hearing.
The matter remains before the Supreme Court as petitioners seek judicial determination on the constitutionality of the Bill’s passage.