100 LAWYERS FOR ONE MAN — BUT WHERE IS JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE?
By admin Yesterday at the Pademba Road Magistrate’s Court in Freetown, the nation witnessed an extraordinary spectacle: Lansana Dumbuya, National Secretary-General of a major political party, appeared to answer charges against him — and he was defended by close to 100 lawyers.
The question that now haunts every Sierra Leonean who believes in justice is simple: why would one individual need an army of lawyers, when 2 or 3 credible legal minds could have sufficed?
A NATION WATCHING ITS MORALITY ERODE
This is not just a question of legal procedure; it is a question of ethics, conscience, and priorities. Where were these lawyers when ordinary citizens — victims of abuse, struggling families, or communities in crisis — needed their expertise pro bono? Where were they when the law could have served justice rather than political spectacle?
Sierra Leoneans are witnessing a nation losing its impartial moral compass. Yesterday, the courtroom was a theatre of influence, not of fairness. While one politically connected individual commands a battalion of lawyers, countless others are left with no voice, no representation, and no hope.
WHO ARE THEY SERVING?
Critics and social commentators are asking hard questions: Are these legal professionals defending justice, or merely power and privilege? When lawyers prioritize political gain over conscience, the law itself becomes weaponized. The spectacle of 100 lawyers standing for one man is not just extravagant — it is a mirror of a society where morality has been hijacked by influence.
One cannot help but ask: if these lawyers truly cared for justice, could they not have lent their skills to a poor victim fighting for survival, a community ravaged by neglect, or a child denied education or protection? Yet here they are, all for one politically prominent figure — leaving the masses to navigate injustice alone.
A MORAL CRISIS IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION
The incident at Pademba Road is emblematic of a broader crisis in Sierra Leone’s justice system: the disappearance of impartiality, conscience, and public duty. Legal talent and moral courage are being concentrated where power dictates, not where justice demands. If this continues unchecked, the courts — once a symbol of fairness — risk becoming arenas of spectacle and privilege.
WE CALL ON ALL
Sierra Leone cannot heal when morality is selective. We must ask ourselves:
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Are we creating a nation where the law serves the people, or only the powerful?
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Where are the lawyers who will fight for justice without fees, for the voiceless and the oppressed?
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When will the legal profession reclaim its conscience and refuse to be complicit in political theatre?
The spectacle of 100 lawyers for Lansana Dumbuya should not awe us — it should alarm us. For every citizen left behind in the shadows of injustice, our moral conscience diminishes.
Sierra Leone deserves lawyers who defend justice, not privilege; who champion the powerless, not the politically connected. The future of our nation depends on the courage and conscience of its legal guardians.
MARAMPA TIMES EDITORIAL
WHEN JUSTICE BECOMES SPECTACLE — SIERRA LEONE’S MORAL CRISIS
Sierra Leone is at a crossroads. Yesterday’s events at Pademba Road Magistrate’s Court—where Lansana Dumbuya appeared to answer charges against him, flanked by nearly 100 lawyers—are more than a legal curiosity. They are a mirror reflecting a deeper, more dangerous malaise: the collapse of impartiality, conscience, and moral courage in our nation.
Let us be clear: the law is not meant to dazzle with numbers or influence; it exists to protect truth, fairness, and equality. Yet in this instance, the law became a spectacle. While one politically connected figure commanded a battalion of legal professionals, countless ordinary citizens—victims of abuse, struggling families, communities in crisis—wait in silence, denied pro bono advocacy, denied fairness, denied justice.
THE REVENGE POLITICS TRAP
Sierra Leone’s political landscape has long been defined by cycles of grievance and retaliation. Yesterday’s spectacle reminds us of this dangerous pattern: those in opposition cry out for justice and reform, only to replicate the same tactics when in power. Today, the powerful enforce harsh measures on political opponents, often using the courts as instruments of retribution rather than impartial justice.
Such “my turn will come” politics—where each party waits for its opportunity to punish—has become a defining feature of our governance. The consequences are devastating: institutions meant to serve the public become tools of political theatre; trust in the judiciary erodes; the moral conscience of the nation crumbles.
WHERE ARE THE GUARDIANS OF CONSCIENCE?
Even more troubling is the role of the legal profession in this crisis. Lawyers, who should serve as guardians of justice, have allowed themselves to become instruments of privilege and spectacle. Hundreds stand ready to defend the politically connected, yet few are willing to appear for the powerless, the victimized, or the marginalized.
This raises urgent questions for the conscience of Sierra Leone:
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Who will defend the voiceless when the powerful monopolize justice?
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When will lawyers reclaim their ethical duty to the nation, rather than its elite?
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And who will break the cycle of revenge politics and lead us toward reconciliation and healing?
A NATION IN MORAL FREEFALL
The Dumbuya case is not an isolated incident. It is emblematic of a society in moral free-fall. Yesterday’s spectacle of 100 lawyers defending one man while ordinary citizens are abandoned is a symbol of a larger truth: Sierra Leone is losing its impartial moral compass. Greed, privilege, and revenge politics have eclipsed conscience and equity.
Yet all is not lost. Hope lies in those who refuse to be complicit in injustice, in citizens who continue to speak truth despite intimidation, and in professionals—lawyers, judges, civil servants—who choose conscience over spectacle.
Marampa Times calls upon Sierra Leone’s leaders, politicians, and legal professionals to rise above revenge and privilege. The law must serve the people, not political expediency. Justice must be impartial, visible, and courageous.
A nation that cannot enforce fairness for all, that tolerates spectacle over principle, and that prioritizes vengeance over reconciliation, is a nation at risk of moral and social collapse.
The time for conscience is now.
The time for courage is now.
The time for Sierra Leone to reclaim justice is now.
