Read full interview below
The Rt. Hon. Speaker Segepoh Solomon Thomas was elected Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament on May 2, 2024, with 128 votes. In an Exclusive Interview with the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament, A-Z Africa Magazine had a one-one with Speaker Segepoh Solomon Thomas on his journey to the Speakership of the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.
Question: Mr. Speaker, tell us about the genesis of your political career.
SST: I entered total politics in 2012 when I contested to become a member of parliament. At that time, my constituency was 078, representing locals from Bonthe Island (Municipality of Bonthe), Dema Chiefdom, Cittia Chiefdom, Nongoba Bullom Chiefdom, and Bendu Cha Chiefdom. That constituency was the biggest, and I spent about five years there until Nongoba Bullom was removed from my constituency. I was left in 2018 to handle the remaining three chiefdoms and the Bonthe Island Municipality as a result of constituency delimitation in 2018. After the 2018 elections, I was elected as Deputy Speaker of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone. I spent five years as Deputy Speaker of Parliament and, simultaneously, representing Constituency 089 from Constituency 078 due to the constituency delimitations. After the 2023 multi-tier elections, I still served my people in a District Block System, otherwise known as the Proportional Representation System, for a year. Under the Proportional Representation System, five Members of Parliament represented Bonthe District. I was one of them until I was elected Speaker of the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone on the 2nd of May 2024. In tandem with Section 79 Subsection 1 of the 1991 Constitution, I resigned as Member of Parliament and from my Political Party, which is the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
Question: Mr. Speaker, in brief, what is your biography?
SST: I was actually born in Bo Town, but my mother is from the Bonthe District, particularly Bonthe Island. I grew up on Bonthe Island, particularly in the Municipality, and I attended St. Patrick’s Primary School and the Bonthe Secondary School in Bonthe. I also later proceeded to attend Christ the King College in Bo. Bonthe District is not an economically buoyant District, so I grew up as a young man knowing that we have to take our destiny into our own hands and to get people to know how we feel in that part of the country and that was the more reason I decided to study law. After my Law Degree Study at Fourah Bay College, I returned to the Island, and the elders met me and said that I was the best to represent them in the House of Parliament. That conversation appeared like a joke at that time, but at the end of the day, I just saw myself being interested in venturing into politics, considering my experience of total neglect of our people on the Island.
Question: How do you balance your legal expertise with the demands of your current role as Speaker of Sierra Leone Parliament?
SST: Politics and law are interrelated. In fact, if you go to other jurisdictions, you will realise that most politicians are lawyers because politics and law are interrelated. Politics is about administration or governance, and governance is linked to law. I have not had any difficulty transitioning from my legal background to my current role as Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament. I have a very good legal practice and several big clients. When I initially decided to transition from legal practice to politics, I had a humongous difficulty negotiating between the two, taking into cognisance that parliament is not that rosy, especially when it comes to funds. People assume that you will make a lot of money when you come to parliament, but the reality is contrary to their expectations. So, existing in my buoyant legal practice was difficult. When I finally came to parliament in 2012, I saw myself constantly shifting from parliament to my Legal Practice. It was sometime in 2018 that I finally settled and became a proper politician.
Question: what were some significant obstacles you encountered in becoming the Speaker of Parliament?
SST: Immediately after the former Speaker, Hon. Dr. Abass Bundu’s resignation, I thought I was the only qualified person to become Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament. But it came to a time when I started having scruples because I thought I was the only qualified and fittest person for the speaker position; then I heard a few of my colleagues showing interest in the same position. One of those colleagues was the Hon. Sidi Mohamed Tunis, Former Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament. Before the resignation of Hon. Dr. Abass Bundu, I did not think he could have shown interest in the first place because, for a couple of months leading up to that time, he kept telling me that I had his support. So, when he showed interest, I became a little taken aback, and then I realised I was in for a real contest.
Question: what role did mentorship or influential figures play in your journey to become Speaker of Parliament?
SST: The Former Speaker, Hon. Dr. Abass Bundu, particularly mentored me. Even though he was an elderly person, he was my friend. I like how he dealt with complex issues and kept guiding me when I was Deputy Speaker. I bungled my first two sittings as Deputy Speaker with some kind of political mentality. Because I knew that opposition members were troublesome, I went down very hard on them when I came. Later, the Former Speaker called me and advised me how to manage opposing parties when I was a speaker. He mentored me throughout, and his mentorship paid off indeed. His mentorship is why I now sit as Speaker of the Sixth Parliament. I am extremely comfortable presiding over the House of Parliament with an independent lens.
Question: what advice would you give to Young Professionals aspiring to follow a similar path?
SST: I think it is achievable because nobody ever thought I could have become the Speaker of the Sixth Parliament at this time. Throughout the existence of the Parliament of Sierra Leone, nobody has ever been the Speaker of this Parliament at my age. This is to say that it is achievable for young people to become speakers of the Sierra Leone Parliament. That is the more reason I am worried about making sure I leave behind a very solid legacy so that the nation can look at young people who can drive change for Sierra Leone. I don’t want to fail the young generation. I want them to look up to me as somebody’s trailblazer. I am worried about making sure that I create the necessary impact so that the nation will know that young people can do what is needed.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, what reforms have you undertaken after your election, and what reforms do you intend to undertake during your tenure as Speaker?
Unlike the Fifth Parliament, which was engulfed in pandemonium, my Deputy Speaker and I have momentously introduced new parliamentary reforms which are already bearing fruit, and are about to implement even more reforms. One of those reforms is to leave a lasting legacy regarding Parliamentary unionism. My consultative leadership style with the leaders of parliament across the political divide has led to the enactment of progressive laws without rancor among members.
Under my leadership, the House of Parliament has also implemented robust mechanisms, such as enhancing staff professional conduct at work, creating an enviable physical visibility of the parliamentary vicinity, and standardised security systems to protect Members of Parliament. Staff conduct at work has been tailored, especially with an emphatic 8:30 mandate for all staff to be in their offices.
Further, the Sixth Parliament has securitised the radius and circumference of the parliament building in terms of access by installing giant gates across every entry point leading to the House of Parliament.
We have also installed a Biometric security check/scanner at the entrance of the Parliamentary building to scan all visitors to the House of Parliament, which aligns with international best practices. My office has also engaged development partners to establish mobile offices for Members of Parliament, to which the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone has responded by starting ten solarised mobile offices for the House of Parliament. The Sixth Parliament has also deepened a mutual working relationship with Civil Society Organizations by launching and signing a communique between Parliament and CSOs.
To permanently end the perennial menace of power outages in the House of Parliament coupled with assumed fuel mismanagement, I have fulfilled the actualisation of an NP Fuel station with a capacity of 5,000 litres, which is automated to fuel the Parliament generator. With this new reform, the issue of fuel mismanagement and power outages in the House of Parliament will be a thing of the past. I will assure you of more reforms as we go along in ensuring that the Sierra Leone Parliament matches with other parliaments globally.