By Bright Will
Strong, credible, and reputable sources within the Judiciary of Sierra Leone and the legal profession in general have told this reporter that the Judiciary of Sierra Leone is unhappy with the unprovoked disrespect from some so-called civil society organizations (CSOs) by unprocedurally and contemptuously challenging the glaringly evidence-based detailed report of the constitutionally established Tribunal that investigated and found guilty Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce and Mr. Tamba Momoh, former auditor-general and deputy auditor-general of Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL).
The six so-called CSOs published what they called an analysis report on the recently released Tribunal Report on the investigation of misconduct by the aforementioned former boss of ASSL.
This reporter was reliably informed that the said CSO report has raised eyebrows from learned judges, particularly given the poor quality of the report.
Most members of the judiciary argued that the report makes reference to natural justice as the basis for lack of evidence. This sounds unreasonable, as Lara and Tamba were given adequate time and safe space to defend themselves before the Tribunal. All procedures were followed while the said disgraced auditors were indicted and testified against by her own very close workmates.
Also, many legal experts have described the report as utterly unacceptable for the so-called CSO report to publicly state that a report of tribunal led by a respected judge lacks integrity. This is not only an attack on the integrity of the report; it also questions the integrity of the highly reputable judge and, by extension, the judiciary. It is indeed very unfortunate, especially when the said CSOs are expected to know better on the subject matter, but they chose to hastily refute the Tribunal report without evidence.
The report is also inundated with big jargon that does not speak to the facts of the report.
“The contents of the reports are inconsistent. The jargons are tools to create the impression that there is evidence to challenge the Tribunal report. Do these CSOs understand the contents of the Tribunal report? If you go through the Tribunal report carefully, you will understand and be convinced that Lara and Tamba are inescapably guilty as charged,” a senior member of the bench told this reporter.
The so-called CSOs are inspired by another unprofessional report recently issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sierra Leone, a report that has been widely condemned by reputable auditors, legal experts, and other professionals for its inconsistencies and weaknesses.
It could be recalled that, following widespread reports of professional misconduct by Mrs. Taylor-Pearce and her deputy, Mr. Tamba Momoh, about two years ago, a constitutionally constituted tribunal was set up by the President Julius Maada Bio government to investigate the reported misconducts. After months of investigations and fair hearings, the Tribunal, constituted by high-profile and reputable legal experts, found the two guilty as accused and recommended their dismissal from Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL)
