Sierra Leone’s Chief Justice, Komba Kamanda, has received a prestigious award in recognition of his outstanding leadership within the Judiciary and across the region as Chairman of the ECOWAS Judicial Council in Freetown International Conference Centre on 10 May 2026.
The inscription on the award reads: “You are being honoured for your exceptional contributions to judicial excellence, unprecedented reforms, institutional strengthening, and the advancement of the Rule of Law in Sierra Leone and West Africa.”
Delivering a lecture on the theme, “Celebrating Leadership Excellence and African Innovation,” ahead of the 2026 West Africa Heroes Award ceremony, the Honourable Chief Justice described the topic as both timely and urgent.
“Across Africa, the demand for accountable governance, democracy, and effective legal systems is growing louder,” he said. He noted that citizens are no longer passive observers but active participants who expect fairness, transparency, accountability, and tangible results, because governance directly affects their lives.
According to the Chief Justice, leadership should be understood from a practical governance and judicial perspective, where laws are applied within real institutions rather than discussed only in theory. He explained that leadership requires respect for constitutional and legal boundaries, commitment to institutional procedures, consistency in decision-making under pressure, and accountability in the exercise of public authority.
He further stated that true leadership demands the courage to reform deeply entrenched systems, embrace technology despite resistance, and uphold integrity even when it is inconvenient.
Chief Justice Kamanda used the occasion to highlight several major reforms introduced during his tenure. These include the first Court of Appeal sittings in the provinces and the establishment of the country’s first Sexual Offences Model Courts in Bo and Makeni.
“We have also made significant progress in digital transformation through the establishment of an effective Virtual Court system, an ultramodern library with e-library resources, and social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and an official website to provide real-time information about the Judiciary and enhance transparency in the administration of justice,” he said.
He concluded by emphasizing that Africa’s future will not be determined solely by its natural resources, but by the strength of its institutions.
Meanwhile, the keynote speaker from Namibia, David Richard Namwandi, expressed delight at returning to Freetown after four decades, recalling his days as a student at Fourah Bay College.
“Everything started in your country, which shaped my vision to become who I am today,” he said.
Professor Namwandi, a renowned scholar and former Minister of Education in Namibia, explained that an institution he founded in 1994 with just one student and one lecturer has grown into one of Namibia’s leading private universities. He is widely known as the founder of the International University of Management.
He added that leadership is about perseverance and commitment to doing what is right, even when success appears impossible.
The event concluded with the presentation of awards to several distinguished personalities, including the Vice President of the African Development Bank Group, the Nigerian and Gambian Ambassadors to Sierra Leone, government ministers, academic scholars, and religious leaders.