Category: news
Hits: 8275

Ombudsman Listens to Complaint from Aggrieved Law Graduates Against the Sierra Leone Law School

Friday June 2nd, 2017

The Ombudsman, Mr. Melron Nicol-Wilson, on Friday 2nd June 2017, held a meeting with some aggrieved law graduates from the University of Sierra Leone and the University of Makeni to hear their complaints against the Sierra Leone Law School. 

The aggrieved graduates alleged that the Sierra Leone Law School has refused to admit them to study for the bar, on the grounds that they have failed some of the core law subjects at the LLB level. One of the requirements for admission into the Sierra Leone Law School, as published on the school’s website, is that, the applicant must have at least a grade C in six core law subjects at the undergraduate level i.e. Contract Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Land Law, Law of Torts and Equity and the Law of Trust.

The complainants, however, argue that having a grade C in core subjects is not part of the requirements for admission as stated in the legislations governing the Law School. They pointed out that, the Law School is only now trying to legislate the said requirement after they had been denied admission. In fact, they report that Parliament recently withdrew the statutory instrument that proposed the core subject requirement. They also claimed that the Law School has always admitted students with law degrees, and continue to do so, regardless of the grades the students have in the core subjects. The requirement, they continue, is a degree in law from 3rd Class upwards, and some of them claim to have 2nd Class uppers.  

After listening to the allegations, the Ombudsman promised the complainants that he would investigate the matter speedily and fairly. In line with the procedures of the Office, the Ombudsman has written to the Sierra Leone Law School for a response to the said allegations and is awaiting a reply.

 

Category: news
Hits: 8258

Office of the Ombudsman Recruits Four More Staff to Deal with Complaints

Monday June 4, 2017

The Office of the Ombudsman has recruited four additional personnel in fulfillment of one of the main activities in the 100-Day Action Plan of the new Ombudsman, Mr. Melron Nicol-Wilson. 

The 100-Day Action Plan identifies inadequate personnel as a major challenge that was causing delays in resolving complaints by the Office, thus undermining public confidence in the Ombudsman. There were only two investigators and one legal officer in the head office in Freetown handling between 300 and 500 complaints per annum. The provincial offices in Bo, Kenema and Makeni are having only one investigator each. 

The four new staff will be stationed in Freetown to work on the backlog cases and undertake informal resolution of new complaints. The newly recruited personnel are Lawyer Maada Kpaka (Legal Officer), Emeline Renner, Mamie Fomba and Hawanatu Bangura (Mediation Officers) 

 

Category: news
Hits: 8221

Ombudsman Presents 2015/2016 Report and 100 Days Plan of Action to President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma

Thursday 8th June, 2017                                  

The Ombudsman, Mr. Melron Nicol-Wilson, on Thursday 8th June 2017, presented the 2015/2016 Biannual Report on the Activities of the Office of the Ombudsman, together with his 100 Days Plan of Action to His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, at State House. 

Presenting the documents, Mr. Melron Nicol-Wilson said that the Office is obligated to submit an Annual report to the President. He said, what he is submitting is a biannual report, which he inherited from his predecessor.

Receiving the report, His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma expressed gratitude and pledged his continued support for the Office of the Ombudsman. 

The report was prepared by the erstwhile Ombudsman, Justice Edmond Cowan, but left it for the new Ombudsman to do the formal presentation. The report highlights the number and nature of complaints the Office received and resolved in 2015/2016 and the outreach activities undertaken during that period, as well as the audited financial statements of the Office for the financial years 2014 and 2015. 

It could be recalled that the new Ombudsman recently launched a 100-Days Plan of Action, which aims at addressing the pressing challenges of the Office. The plan, which is anchored on three thematic areas: Power, Empower and Deliver (PED) projects. The plan seeks to review the Ombudsman Act, in order to give the Ombudsman enforcement powers, restructure the Office to enhance efficiency and speedily resolve backlog cases to enhance public confidence, among others. 

Present at the presentation ceremony also were some members of staff of the Office of the Ombudsman - Dr. Sheku Conteh, Executive Secretary; Mrs. Abigail Gbo-Musa, Finance/Amin Manager; Mr. Alhaji Mansaray, Principal Investigator; Mr. Ishmael Jalloh, Investigator; Ms Lois Kawa , Principal Legal Officer ; Minkailu Francis Sama, Admin/Procurement Officer and Mr. Ajan Fofanah the Personal Assistant to the Ombudsman .

END

Abdulai Senesie

Principal Public Relations Officer

Office of the Ombudsman - Sierra Leone

 

Category: news
Hits: 7926

The Minister of Political and Public Affairs Pays Courtesy Call on the Ombudsman of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

On Thursday 15th June 2017, the Minister of Political and Public Affairs, Hon. Nanette Thomas paid a courtesy call on the Ombudsman of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Melron C. Nicol-Wilson Esq.

The Minister of Political and Public Affairs in her statement congratulated the Ombudsman on his appointment and further spoke extensively on the Ministry’s statutory mandate and policy objectives.

She advised the Ombudsman to maintain his independence and should not in any way be allowed to be muzzled.

In his response, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Melron C. Nicol-Wilson Esq thanked the Minister and her delegation for the wonderful visit and promised to work closely with the Ministry.

The Ombudsman highlighted the challenges since he took up office on the 2nd May 2017 and pledged to discharge his duties effectively.

In closing, the National Coordinator on Public Mobilization, Ousman Sankoh and the Coordinator on Outreach, Mucktarr Tejan-Cole commended the energetic lawyer for his resilience in the justice system in Sierra Leone and they expressed their belief that he will bring about change in achieving the set goals.

  1. Ombudsman Visits the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone
  2. Ombudsman signs MoU With Legal Aid Board
  3. The Ombudsman meets with the British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone
  4. Office of the ombudsman publishes inaugural edition of quarterly newsletter
Quick Links
News Update