When he was at Law School, Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley never thought in his wildest dreams that a time would come, in his legal career, when he would win a case at the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone in which Dr Abdulai O. Conteh, who is one of the framers of the 1991 Constitution of the country, would be the lead counsel.
But that once-upon-a-time wildest dream came to reality last Friday when the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone gave a landmark ruling in which Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley was one of the defendants—for the unspeakable crime for being the principal legal adviser to the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) government. He and his team at the Law Officers’ Department had adduced that the Proportional Representation or District Block System was the way to go for the 2023 multi-tier elections. And the Supreme Court had ruled that their argument superseded that of the plaintiffs’.
Before that, as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, he has on countless occasions shown his democratic credentials. Both in public, and in private, he has been telling all those who care to listen to him that the upcoming elections will be free, fair, and devoid of unnecessary deprivation of eligible electorates’ prerequisite rights. He has always been stressing the importance of the free flow of ideas for the promotion of democratic spaces for political parties and other relevant election stakeholders. Despite that, he has been emphasizing that citizens must be aware of their responsibilities as mandated by the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
But how did this soft-spoken, unassuming, respectful, and bodily-built tall man come into the political limelight? How was he yanked from his private legal practice at Walpole Street in Freetown and courtrooms of the Law Court at Siaka Stevens Street? And how did this husband and father, who has all along been working in camera, suddenly start working on camera?
Well, after the legal turbulences provoked by Charles Francis Margai, Dr Priscilla Schwartz and Anthony Brewah; the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice needed to be calm after those storms. And that was the headache of President Julius Maada Bio until he had to look in-house to find the head corner stone for his legal fortification.
And on 18 January 2022, President Bio was pleased to appoint his then Solicitor-General, Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley, as his new Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. And recent legal successes in that office, coupled with those at the Law Officers’ Department, have proven that one of the best things President Bio has ever done in his four-years-plus presidency was, and still is, that appointment.
And true to expectations, Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley hit the ground sprinting like the sprints reminiscent of those of Usain Bolt—the former Jamaican sprinter widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. On 28 February 2022, at the Freetown International Conference Centre at Aberdeen, he pledged to take critical steps in addressing human trafficking. He said the Justice Department would continue to forge strong collaborations and increase cooperation and coordination amongst key government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, as well as Civil Society Organizations, NGOs, the private sector, foreign governments, and UN agencies, in achieving the objectives of the National Action Plan.
And that’s not all. He strongly encouraged victims to speak up about their experiences and to further matters at the court. “I shall also engage the prosecution division of my office to initiate and develop new strategies and to effectively implement the National Action Plan to prevent trafficking in persons in Sierra Leone,” he noted.
Still sprinting; in June 2022 Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley worked tirelessly to ensure that the Constitutional Amendment Act 2022 was passed in a fair and transparent manner. His dedication to ensuring that the Constitution was, and still is, upheld and that amendments were, and still are, passed in accordance with its guidelines is a testament to his commitment to serving the people of Sierra Leone.
Amongst the feats he has accomplished as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice are the tabling in parliament of the Public Elections Act, 2022, which is an Act to repeal and replace the Public Elections Act, 2012 (Act No. 4 of 2012). The Political Parties Regulation Commission Act 2022 is also one of the accomplishments of Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
Many political pundits are now wondering what the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice would have looked like had President Bio appointed Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley when he announced his first cabinet. But as the saying goes: “better late than never”.