Popular lawyer, Basita Michael has criticised the recent Justice Reform Strategy 2024-2030 launched by President Julius Maada Bio last week.

The lawyer took to her Facebook page on Sunday morning to give a piece of what she thinks could really reform Sierra Leone’s Judiciary and justice system now and for the forseeable future. Although she agreed that the strategy has much-needed reforms, but that she remained critical “with a sense of scepticism, rather than excitement”.

She added that the reforms without accountability and bias in the justice system will not succeed.

The lawyer said one of the reasons successive governments have failed to reform the government is due to interferance in cases especially those with political interest.

“It is the power of political alliances and the influence of party politics that often determine when, how, and who is held accountable,” Michael said. She added that governments of the past and now protect “powerful individuals and corrupt politicians” when such cases are brought up. She insinuated that such individuals are sadly protected by the same Judiciary or similar instituations that are meant to punish them of their crimes.

She admonished the government to focus on extending accountable to those in position of power rather than reforms since there are already many reforms that are yet to be implemented.

She affirmed that those in power should focus on actions and not “well-crafted speeches and grand launches” that will yield little or no benefit.

She ended by stating that true justice will only come when Sierra Leoneans are committed to real, tangible actions that repair the injustices of the past and present. “Until then, no strategy will be worth the paper it is written on,” she ended.