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Magistrate Solomon Christian Kekurah of the York Village Court has ruled that Lawyer Abu Bakarr I. Kamara must be entered into the temporary register and issued a temporary certificate by the General Legal Council before he may act as counsel in Sierra Leone’s lower courts.
The ruling followed an objection by lead defence counsel Mustapha A. Khalil, who challenged Kamara’s right to appear on the grounds that he had not produced a certificate of temporary registration.
Magistrate Kekurah upheld the objection, emphasizing that being called to the Bar (status) is distinct from being authorised to practice in court (practice). While acknowledging that Kamara is a “Counsel” by virtue of his call to the Bar, Kekurah noted that the right of audience in Magistrates’ Courts depends on registration and certification by the General Legal Council under the Legal Practitioners Act 2000.
The magistrate rejected Kamara’s reliance on a 2020 Supreme Court decision involving Lawyer Ibrahim Sorie, describing Kamara’s interpretation as “a complete misstatement of that case” and an attempt to mislead the court. Kekurah clarified that the Supreme Court decision addressed standing, computed from the date of call to the Bar, while practice is governed separately by registration requirements.
“The selected passages cited by Mr. Kamara contain no indication that one who intends to practice in the Magistrates’ Court as ‘Counsel’ does not need to sign the temporary register or obtain a temporary certificate from Council,” the magistrate stated.
Kekurah grounded his decision in section 20(5)(a) of the Legal Practitioners Act 2000, which provides that holders of a certificate of temporary registration have the right of audience in Magistrates’ Courts and District Appeal Courts for both criminal and civil matters. Applying the mischief rule of statutory interpretation, the magistrate determined that the legislative intent was to centralize regulatory authority with the General Legal Council, a role previously exercised by the Chief Justice under earlier statutes.
A central theme of the ruling is the distinction between standing and practice. Magistrate Kekurah concluded that while Kamara may be addressed as “Counsel” under Supreme Court reasoning on standing, he lacks the statutory right of audience until he completes the temporary registration process.
As a practical consequence, senior counsel M.M. Tejan was directed to conduct the cross-examination of a defence witness in the trespass case involving complainant Hannah Dakowa and defendants Mohamed Limba and Abu Tarawally. Kamara was therefore precluded from participating until he complied with registration requirements.
