Native Consortium has requested for a clearance from the Inspector General of Police to stage a protest, demanding justice from the Judiciary of Sierra Leone on a case the Consortium filed against the leading mobile network operators in Sierra Leone and their regulatory body, NATCOM.

The protest is scheduled any time after the 17th of this month within the precinct of the Law Court building in Freetown, Native Consortium declared in a letter to the Inspector General of Police. In 2017, Native Consortium, a civil society organization in Sierra Leone and 299 Consumers nationwide filed a court case against Orange and Africell, the two main mobile network companies in Sierra Leone and the National Telecommunication Commission (NATCOM) for ‘unspeakable cheating’ on consumers and for poor quality of service to the nation. But since then, no ruling has been made on the case. The Consortium accuses the Judiciary for delaying verdict on the case, and says it is staging the protest to seek justice that has been delayed, specifically by Hon Justice Adrian Fischer and the Chief Justice, Desmond Babatunde Edwards.

“Sierra Leone has been suffering in silence for far too long. Sierra Leoneans expect this Locus Classicus class action notto not only to put an end to the cheating but will sanitize the telecom industry,” the CSO says. Native Consortium & Research Center is one of the leading economic Justice Civil Society think-tanks in West Africa. Over the past years, the civil society organization has been a staunch critic of the leadership of NATCOM for its reluctance to take decisive action.

against the mobile 2 companies whenever issues of poor mobile services arise. C In a letter written to the IG last week, j Native Consortium notes that since 2017, t the case went through three Judges before it was being eventually transferred to Hon Justice Adrian B Fischer. Justice Fischer conducted a full-blown trial for one month, withdrew the file for final Judgment in August 2021 a then promised to pass verdict on the matter in October 2021.

But on to this moment, the organization says Justice Fischer has been ‘very recalcitrant’ to deliver judgment on the matter, calling the delay a breach of Section 120 (16) of the 1991 constitution.

“And even our right to a fair hearing s has been contravened according to Section 23 (2) of the 1991 constitution,” the CSO added.
Native Consortium which has led 9 peaceful protests in the last 22 years says it has written the IG to apply for police protection for a peaceful – demonstration within and around the precinct of the court yard without traffic disruption on a date that will be agreed on.