By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
Justice Glenna Thompson is leading Sierra Leone’s delegation to an ECOWAS conference in Senegal, accompanied by Justices Deen Tarawally and Augustine Musa, according to an announcement by the Judiciary of Sierra Leone. The choice places a senior woman judge at the head of a national delegation and gives practical expression to Chief Justice Komba Kamanda’s emphasis on broader participation within the Judiciary. But the significance extends beyond the conference itself. Every public decision by a judiciary invites a more exacting question: what does the citizen gain? In Sierra Leone, the answer must ultimately be found in the quality, accessibility and credibility of justice at home.
The Judiciary itself sets that standard. Its official platform describes its vision as “accessible, fair and expeditious justice for all in Sierra Leone” and presents transparency, efficiency and public trust as essential to the administration of justice. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/ Those principles give citizens a practical measure against which institutional activity can be judged. A conference abroad, a new appointment or a regional responsibility has public value when it strengthens the institution citizens encounter in the registry, the courtroom and the correctional centre. The question is therefore not whether Sierra Leone is represented internationally, but whether such engagement contributes to better justice domestically.
That domestic test is already visible in the Judiciary’s assignment of Resident Judges to Kono, Moyamba, Port Loko and Kenema, with responsibilities extending to surrounding districts. The Judiciary presented the move as part of its effort to expand access through decentralisation. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/?p=1798 A court may exist in law, yet remain distant in geography and difficult in practice. Placing judicial capacity closer to communities outside Freetown addresses one of the most basic conditions of access: proximity. Leadership is therefore measured not only from the centre of the Judiciary, but by where judicial capacity is made available.
The same principle appears in the Judiciary’s nationwide prison court monitoring exercise. Judges were assigned across several regions to examine prolonged adjournments, bail conditions and the legal status of vulnerable inmates, with the stated purpose of reducing congestion and promoting fair and timely hearings. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/?mo=6&p=1807 This is where administration acquires a human dimension. Access to justice means little if the person waiting for it is invisible to the system. The initiative directs judicial attention towards people for whom delay can become a form of deprivation.
There is an equally concrete example in the Judiciary’s acquisition of six motorcycles for Bailiffs. The stated purpose was to facilitate the service of legal documents in hard to reach areas and accelerate judicial processes. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/?mo=5&p=1822 It is a modest administrative measure, but that is precisely why it matters. Reform becomes convincing when a citizen can recognise its effect: a document delivered, a process completed, a hearing enabled. The distance between a reform announcement and public confidence is measured in practical results.
Judicial capacity has also been expanded. In May 2025, two judges were elevated to the Court of Appeal and seven appointed to the High Court, alongside the swearing in of nineteen Notaries Public. The Judiciary said some of the new judges would serve places without resident High Court judges to improve access and expedite justice. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/?mo=10&p=1776 The Chief Justice also urged them to remain independent and impartial and uphold the Constitution. Expanding the bench can improve reach, but public confidence ultimately depends on how judicial power is exercised.
That makes Justice Thompson’s role particularly significant. The Judiciary’s official Supreme Court listing confirms her position among Sierra Leone’s Supreme Court judges. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/?mo=7&page_id=403 Her participation in regional judicial work is therefore more than ceremonial. It places a senior member of the country’s highest court in a position to represent Sierra Leone’s judicial institution beyond its borders. The broader principle is clear: women judges must be entrusted with substantive responsibility if inclusion is to become leadership.
The regional dimension has grown under Kamanda. The Judiciary announced his appointment as Chairman of the ECOWAS Judicial Council, comprising the Chief Justices of the organisation’s fifteen member states and supporting the judicial arm of ECOWAS. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/?mo=8&p=1804 The Judiciary said the chairmanship involves regional judicial cooperation and leadership on the rule of law, judicial independence and integration. Such a position gives Sierra Leone greater visibility in West Africa, but it also raises expectations at home. Regional standing is most valuable when rooted in a domestic justice system capable of commanding public confidence.
The public test is straightforward. A litigant should be able to identify the appropriate court and understand the basic process. An accused person should receive a hearing without avoidable delay, while a vulnerable inmate should not disappear into prolonged adjournments or uncertainty over legal status. A citizen in a remote district should not have to treat distance as a barrier to judicial service. These are the moments in which justice ceases to be institutional language and becomes a public reality.
The same standard applies to transparency. The Judiciary says its public website provides judgments, legal notices, court calendars, case updates and other judicial information as part of its effort to promote transparency and public trust. https://www.judiciary.gov.sl/ Judicial independence protects adjudication from improper interference; transparency allows citizens to understand how the institution performs its public responsibilities. A judiciary earns confidence through both. Public trust is not produced by institutional visibility alone. It is built when citizens can see that the institution’s stated commitments correspond with their experience of justice.
The Senegal delegation should therefore be understood through what follows from it, rather than through the prestige of the conference itself. If regional participation strengthens professional knowledge, judicial cooperation and institutional capacity, its value will ultimately appear in Sierra Leonean courts. The same standard should apply to the wider emphasis on women judges: inclusion becomes consequential when capable judges receive responsibility, visibility and meaningful opportunities to lead. The strongest evidence will be found not in announcements alone, but in shorter distances to courts, more timely hearings, stronger administration and greater public confidence.
The strongest evidence of judicial leadership will be found where citizens meet the state: the registry, the courtroom, the correctional centre and the district where a court is finally within reach.
For Sierra Leone’s Judiciary, the journey to Senegal should therefore end with a simple question: is justice becoming easier to reach, easier to understand and more worthy of trust? If the answer can be seen in the daily experience of court users, then regional engagement, institutional reform and broader participation within the Judiciary will have acquired significance beyond any conference or appointment. The measure of judicial leadership will ultimately be found not in how prominently Sierra Leone’s judges appear abroad, but in whether, at home, a citizen who needs justice can find it.