I will never condone students who spy in examinations
but I will defend to the very end their right to be heard!
It is a cardinal principle of natural justice that an accused person or any person alleged to have committed an offence must be given an opportunity to be heard, present his case and put forward his defence. Not to guarantee this right will definitely constitute a fundamental breach of the principles of natural justice and could as well provide a valid grounds for appeal. (Audi alteram partem). (Photo: Rashid Dumbuya Esq )
Just recently, the Council of Legal Education in Sierra Leone put out a press release nullifying the 2012/2013 bar exam results and called on all the lawyers who graduated from the Sierra Leone Law school in that year (save 15) to return their certificates forthwith. The Council of Legal Education claimed it took this decision based on the report/ recommendations of a Special Committee that was set up to look into allegations of exams malpractices and mal-administration in the Sierra Leone Law school. About 56 students, including a hand full of foreign ones are presently affected.
Because of the seriousness of the indictment and its attendant impacts on the BAR and legal profession in Sierra Leone, it is but fitting that a proof beyond all reasonable doubt be ascertained over these allegations so that the right message would be sent out to the entire world.
Apparently, however, as it stands on the Law school saga, even though a decision has been reached, the very report upon which logical conclusions were made is yet to be made public so that the affected students, at the very least, will have a fair idea of how, and on what grounds they were implicated. It is this blatant act of denial of transparency and accountability that this article seeks to interrogate.
The general expectation after any investigation has been carried out especially where people and reputations have been implicated, and the culprits never included, is for the findings of such investigation to be made public so that affected parties can concede to, and /or challenge the outcomes accordingly. But this is yet to be done.
And the situation becomes even more worrying when one realises that Sierra Leone has just recently passed into law a FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT which among other things makes disclosure of information a duty upon public bodies and agencies. Is the withholding therefore of this report not a direct contravention of the FOI law?
Well, you may judge that for yourself but what I will submit is that, any rule, policy, practice or code that inhibits such disclosure would clearly be contravening constitutionality and fundamental principles of democracy.
Ensuring transparency and accountability in investigative processes will help protect and promote the human rights of individuals irrespective of their background and circumstances, safeguard against arbitrary decision making and repression, and ensure that those who enforce the law, equally conforms to it.
If truly the investigations were carried out with due diligence and the findings were correctly ascertained, I see no reason for the delay of the publication of the report and the open call for aggrieved victims to challenge it where they believe they have pregnant evidence to the contrary.
Furthermore, the need for a third opinion becomes even more compelling when it is construed that an earlier investigation prior to the latter certified that there were no incidents of exams malpractices that took place in the BAR 2012/2013 exams as alleged. The obvious question then to ask is, why are the conclusions of the second investigation different from the previous? May be, it will also be expedient for both reports to be made public so that the trajectories and underlying assumptions of the two inquiries can be objectively ascertained.
According to Judge William O. Douglas, ‘it is procedure that spells much of the difference between rule of law and the rule of whim or caprices.” –
As a country, more so a democratic one, we must not, in any way, tolerate the circumvention of constitutional rights, irrespective of who the victims are. The right to be heard is a fundamental principle of law and natural justice and should be guaranteed to everyone in the state.
Today, it is their turn but we may never know whose turn it will be tomorrow. That is why the BAR ASSOCIATION should act in unison and pursue this matter rigorously to ensure that justice is not only done but be seen to be done. If needs be, an order for MANDAMUS must be sought in the courts to compel a release of the report to the public.
Just like the PUBLIC NOTICE nullifying the results of the students was sent to SLBC to be aired to the general populace, in the same vein, the report that indicted them should also be made open, at least to parliament, for the same public to digest the facts and come to a logical conclusion of the entire incident. OUR REPUTATION IS AT STAKE AND WE MUST ENDEAVOUR TO CHANGE PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS!
While I take total exception to students who cheat in examinations, I will however defend their rights vigorously especially where they are being denied the opportunity to be heard and subsequently exonerate themselves. Justice is a two edged sword and must be seen to be done not only for the complainant but also for the defendant as well.
If the BAR ASSOCIATION fails to act tough on this matter, it would surely be scoring an own goal on itself and this will lay a negative foundation for trust and reliance in the future.
Like Martin Niemoller succinctly puts it, “First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me”-
By Rashid Dumbuya Esq
Rashid Dumbuya is an International Human Rights Lawyer and a practicing Barrister and Solicitor from the Republic of Sierra Leone. He holds a Masters of Laws degree in International Human Rights Law from the Centre for Human Rights University of Pretoria, South Africa and is currently an LLM candidate pursuing Petroleum Law and Policy at the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.
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