Lawyers’ Society Demands Withdrawal of Government Instruments Establishing New Districts and Cities
Sia Lucy Kannah The Lawyers’ Society of Sierra Leone has issued a press release demanding that the government immediately withdraw newly published statutory instruments designed to establish new cities, councils, districts, chiefdoms, and villages.
The legal organisation raised serious concerns regarding Government Notice Nos. 246–277, published as a supplement to the extraordinary Sierra Leone Gazette dated September 16, 2026, and seen in public circulation on September 30, 2026. The Society asserts that these measures lack evidence of required public consultation and parliamentary procedures.
Among the measures highlighted, the Society singled out specific statutory instruments for cancellation: Statutory Instrument No. 13: Freetown City Council Establishment Order.
Statutory Instrument No. 15: Freetown West City Council Establishment Order, and Statutory Instrument No. 19: Lungi City Council Establishment Order.
The Society reiterated warnings it previously issued on June 7, 2025, when Cabinet first approved plans to create Bandajuma and Kpanguma Districts, split Freetown into two separate localities, divide the Western Rural District into three, and declare Lungi a city. At the time, the legal group cautioned that such moves posed significant legal risks and threatened social fragmentation.
Under Section 2(2)(a) of the Local Government Act No. 26 of 2022, the President holds the authority to declare districts, towns, and cities via statutory instruments.
However, the Lawyers’ Society stressed that this power is strictly bound by constitutional and legal safeguards: Mandatory Parliamentary Laying: Section 170(7) of the 1991 Constitution and Section 3(1)–(2) of the Constitutional and Statutory Instruments Act No. 6 of 1999 mandate that every statutory instrument must be laid before Parliament for 21 days before taking effect.
Consultation Explanatory Memorandum: Standing Order 18(2) dictates that any request to lay such an instrument must include a memorandum explaining the process of consultation undertaken with relevant stakeholders.
The Society criticized a September 18, 2025 government gathering framed as a “consultation,” describing it instead as a mere presentation that offered stakeholders no genuine mechanism to shape the proposals.
By contrast, the organization pointed to a Freetown City Council Town Hall meeting held on June 26, 2025, attended by over 600 residents, including market women, bike riders, youth, civil society representatives, and the Lawyers’ Society. Attendees overwhelmingly rejected the division of the capital in Resolution FCC/2026/04. The Krio Descendant Yunion (KDY) has also strongly condemned the government’s plans.
The Lawyers’ Society urged the government to halt all actions on the divisions and immediately withdraw Statutory Instruments Nos. 13, 15, and 19 of 2026 until comprehensive, meaningful stakeholder consultations and independent socio-economic viability studies are conducted.
Additionally, the group called on members of Parliament to fulfill their democratic duty by rejecting the instruments, demanding full adherence to procedural rules, and respecting the expressed will of the public.
