Justice Halloway Cries for Justice
A sitting Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone, Hon. Mr. Justice Allan B. Halloway JSC, has accused Chief Justice Komba Kamanda of gross breaches of the 1991 Constitution and violations of his human rights.
In a letter dated August 11, 2025, addressed to Chief Justice Kamanda, Justice Halloway outlined a series of incidents he claims were orchestrated against him on the instructions of the Chief Justice. These include the withholding of his mid-month allowance, the blocking of his official fuel allocation, delays in the maintenance of his official vehicle, and the refusal to reimburse medical expenses.
Justice Halloway said these actions amounted to a violation of Section 138(3) of the Constitution, which protects judges from any variation of their salaries, allowances, or conditions of service to their disadvantage.
“Undisputedly you have withheld my mid-month allowance and my supply of fuel for my official vehicle has been stopped, causing me to use from my monthly salary to meet expenses. Undisputedly you have failed to ensure that my official vehicle is maintained together with the satisfying of my expenditures regarding my medical bills as part of my conditions of service,” Justice Halloway wrote.
The judge described the situation as a threat to his life, citing a recent health condition that required urgent medication. “Your actions therefore, in denying me my allowance aforesaid, could have had devastating effects and was a danger to my life,” he said, adding that he also supports his 83-year-old mother from his salary.
Beyond financial matters, Justice Halloway also accused the Chief Justice of sidelining him from court duties. He alleged that he had been removed from panels of both the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court and denied new case assignments, which he described as a ‘tacit suspension’.
He claimed that the Chief Justice had even demanded case files already assigned to him, warning that such interference undermined judicial independence. “You now unconstitutionally and without any reason whatsoever, target my lawful source of livelihood, which undisputedly, is inhuman of you, a threat to my very existence and is the worst form of your violations of my rights,” the Supreme Court Judge stated.
The senior judge, one of the most experienced in the judiciary, said he felt a responsibility to speak out, despite alleged intimidation. “Quite a number of Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature privately condemn your unconstitutionalities… but refuse to bring it out to you for fear of how you react.”
Justice Halloway warned that if the issues raised are not addressed, he would seek redress under the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. “I sincerely hope you do not force me to seek redress accordingly. I hold the view that you cannot be above the law,” he concluded.
The letter was copied to President Julius Maada Bio, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, the Attorney General, the Chief Minister, other Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges, the Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commission, and several civil society organizations.
By Mohamed Kamara
