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Let me begin by commending the judiciary for the speed with which Justice was dispensed in this case. It will be remised if I fail to deposit that the alacrity of dispensing of justice on this matter does not in any way negates the consequences of this not-so-unprecedented ruling.
Again, restraint ought to be exercised in reviewing the merits and demerits of this ruling since a hard or soft copy of the literature is yet to be made public.
Let me recapitulate that the body language of the Court Room said it all before even the ruling was handed down.
I guess the Plaintiffs (APC party) saw it coming and it’s natural that nobody wants to lose a court matter on such a politically consequential matter.
I’m only concerned about how come all five SC judges ruled in the same way.
I asked myself what kind of Supreme Court we have, a liberal or conservative one.
Again, the issue of the absence of some substantive SC judges and its unexplained nature deserves a dissection.
It’s my take that, although huge, the ruling was not unprecedented because it is unusual for the reverse of this ruling to have been slammed.
I guess this point is predicated on the notion that the same SC that ruled against Sam, did the same in favor of the PR. The merits of both cases might be different but not far-fetched from the fact that both cases sought to clarify a constitutional ambiguity.
I guess the fundamental issue is the question to be answered, how independent is the SC.
This subject interestingly is being discussed and grappled with also in the USA following the SC ruling on Roe V. Wade.
Without any contempt, the SC of Sierra Leone needs a self-introspection and answer the question of who it is established to serve, the Government or the people.
I partly agree that until after their political demise in 2018, the APC hasn’t been too democratic but it’s a vicious cycle that institutions are being manipulated to satisfy political brinkmanship.
In conclusion, let me pinpoint that as things stand, the opposition must now focus entirely on the electoral timetable and do its homework well. Everybody, EMBs, CSOs, Media, the electorate, and all must now go to work. Focusing on the arguments for or against PR is a political distraction that must be avoided. Let me also postulate that it’s too early to praise or decry the ruling because the application of the PR is going to be another learning curve for which time is of the essence.
