Prominent Sierra Leonean lawyer and All People’s Congress (APC) counsel, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, widely known as “JFK” was today discharged and released from custody after tendering an unreserved apology to Chief Justice Komba Kamanda and the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone.
Kamara, who had been remanded at the Male Correctional Centre on Pademba Road since Wednesday, 8th October for contempt of court, appeared before the full bench this morning alongside members of his legal team led by veteran lawyer Sulaiman Kabba Koroma.
His lawyers appealed to the Court to accept his apology, forgive his earlier remarks and temper justice with mercy.
In his ruling, Chief Justice Kamanda said the Court had accepted the apology and therefore ordered that Kamara be discharged forthwith.
The Chief Justice underscored that the ongoing constitutional proceedings before the Court are of immense national importance and must be treated with the seriousness they deserve. He affirmed that the Supreme Court remains ready and committed to interpret the Constitution in the interest of the nation.
He also used the occasion to caution lawyers, journalists and members of the public against making public statements or granting media interviews that could undermine the administration of justice or damage the integrity of the judicial process.
Justice Kamanda commended lawyers on both sides for their comportment during proceedings and reminded legal practitioners of their professional duty to respect the court, uphold judicial authority and avoid conduct that could bring the legal profession into disrepute.
The contempt finding arose from a heated exchange during hearings on 7th and 8th October concerning the legal challenge to the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
Kamara, who is lead counsel for Hon. Osman Abdal Timbo and other plaintiffs challenging the procedure adopted by Parliament in passing the Bill, had questioned the Office of the Attorney-General over its filing of documents, including what he described as the absence of a proper Statement of Case.
The bench regarded certain remarks made in the course of that submission as derogatory to the Court’s integrity and ordered a specific apology and retraction.
When the apology initially offered was deemed inadequate, the Chief Justice ordered Kamara to remove his wig, enter the dock, and he was subsequently remanded in custody until today’s sitting.
His detention sparked heated debate across the country, with the Opposition in Parliament, the Sierra Leone Bar Association, and several civil society voices calling for leniency, while others insisted on the need to protect the dignity of the Supreme Court.
Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara is no stranger to Sierra Leone’s legal and political landscape. He served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice from 2016 to 2018, previously served as Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and as Deputy Prosecutor and briefly Acting Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
He is a former President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and in recent months has been active within the APC as a flagbearer aspirant for the 2028 presidential election, while serving as lead counsel in the current constitutional litigation.
With Kamara’s discharge, attention is now expected to return to the substantive constitutional issues before the Supreme Court, which border on whether Parliament complied with the strict procedures laid down in the 1991 Constitution for amending entrenched provisions.
The Court is expected to give further directions on the matter in the coming days.
