Former President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma has visited All People’s Congress (APC) lead counsel Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara (JFK) at his Makeni residence, days after the prominent lawyer was released from detention at the Male Correctional Centre on Pademba Road, Freetown.
JFK, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and now lead counsel for the APC in the ongoing constitutional case, described the visit as a gesture of brotherhood and loyalty.
“I was deeply honoured to receive a surprise visit at my Makeni residence from my brother, former President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, who came bearing thoughtful gifts and a heart full of brotherly love,” JFK said in a statement.
He added that the gesture was a reminder that genuine friendship and brotherhood remain valuable beyond politics and public service.
From contempt to apology
JFK’s detention had gripped the nation’s legal and political circles for almost a week.
He was committed for contempt on Wednesday, 8 October 2026, by Chief Justice Komba Kamanda during heated proceedings at the Supreme Court on the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — a highly sensitive case challenging how Parliament passed the proposed constitutional amendments under Sections 91 and 108 of the 1991 Constitution. JFK is representing Hon. Osman Timbo and other plaintiffs challenging the procedure.
The clash arose on 7 October over filings from the Attorney-General’s Office. JFK told the court the Chief Justice had “raised his hands too quickly.” The Chief Justice responded that the Supreme Court was “not a political theatre,” rejected JFK’s initial apology as insincere, ordered him to remove his wig and enter the dock, and remanded him to Pademba Road.
After five days in detention, he reappeared before a full five-judge bench on Tuesday, 13 October. His legal team, led by veteran lawyer Sulaiman Borbor Kabba, tendered an unreserved apology and pleaded for mercy, stressing the need for cordial relations between the Bench and the Bar.
Chief Justice Kamanda accepted the apology and discharged him.
“The court has accepted the apology and he is therefore discharged,” he declared, but warned lawyers, government officials, journalists and the public to refrain from comments that could undermine the administration of justice while the constitutional case is ongoing.
Speaking briefly after his release, JFK said: “I’m happy to be back.”
The incident drew reactions from across the Bar. The Lawyers’ Society of Sierra Leone and the African Bar Association had called for his release, while APC presidential aspirant Ady Macauley said the matter should never have reached the stage of contempt, calling for mutual respect between Bench and Bar.
Koroma’s visit to Makeni, JFK’s political stronghold and the former president’s hometown is being seen as both a personal show of solidarity and a political signal of APC unity as the substantive constitutional battle returns to the Supreme Court this week.
