Legal Aid Counsels have secured the release of a Guinean Citizen in the ongoing Judicial Week. Those discharged include a Guinean.

Following a request from the Executive Director of Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles, the Fula Tribal Headman for the Western Area, Alhaji Alimamy Mohamed Sajoh Jalloh agreed to assist with repatriating the said Guinean to his home country. He also agreed to host the Guinean until his repatriation.

The PRO for the Western Area Fula Community, Chernor Portal Bah received the Guinean on behalf of the Fula Tribal Headman.

‘Please convey my gratitude to Mr. Jalloh for accepting to repatriate our client to Guinean,’ Ms. Carlton-Hanciles told

 ‘I am particularly grateful he sent you to our office less than thirty minutes following my request. ‘

The Legal Aid Board (LAB) placed modalities in place to provide legal representation to a total of 1,013 indigent accused persons whose matters have been listed for hearing during the ongoing Judicial Week.
The Board’s preparedness came following final discussions with the Chief Justice of the republic of Sierra Leone, His Lordship Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards and other key stakeholders on the planning of the Judicial Week which commences on Monday 31 January and ends on Friday 4 February 2022.

Of the 1,013 accused persons whose cases have been listed for the week, 709 are scheduled for hearing in Freetown and Waterloo while the remaining 304 will be heard in various courts around the country. In all, a total of 30 courts around the country have been designated for the week long session. Of this number, 18 are in Freetown and Waterloo while the remaining 12 are in the provinces.
During this period, accused persons who have been in correctional centers for long periods, such as prolonged adjournment; inmates on remand without bail; those on bail but did not meet their bail condition; inmates awaiting indictments; those on summary review, etc will have their cases heard by judges already identified for purposes of the Judicial Week.

The move according to the judiciary is to decongest correctional centers across the country.
Speaking on the Board’s preparedness, the Executive Director, Ms Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles informed that Legal Aid Board Counsels have filed various applications ahead of the week long session which include: applications for habeas corpus, bail, summary review, etc.

Ms Carlton-Hanciles also disclosed plans by the Board to recruit additional lawyers on a week-long basis to assist the Board’s defence team in ensuring that all those whose matters have been listed for hearing around the country have access to legal representation.

The lawyers she said will be deployed in courts that are yet to have LAB counsels for the session both in the western area and the provincial areas.

She appealed to LAB counsels to remain committed to their work and to continue to uphold the Board’s good spirit in ensuring that indigent persons are well represented.