Deputy Minister of information
October 28, 2016 By Patrick J. Kamara & Andrew Ngebuva (Intern)
Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Cornelius Deveaux, has told newsmen at a presser in the ministry’s conference room at Youyi building that the case filed by sacked Vice President Alhaji Sam Sumana at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court was the least issue to worry the government.
Deveaux said while the government continues to respect the protocol of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, they were also certain that the protocol that established the Court was to mediate between countries and not to interpret member states’ constitution.
“Let me inform members of the media that the government is not by any means perturbed by the recent disclosure that the erstwhile Vice President is seeking redress in the ECOWAS Court of Justice. We are certainly sure that the protocols establishing the Court give mandate to mediate the implementation of the formation but does not certainly have the mandate to interpret the constitution of a member states,” he averred.
However, the Court had previously ruled in favour of individuals who had brought claims against the government, with the latter paying huge compensation to a certain Lebanese businessman.
Alhaji Samuel Sam-Sumana was expelled from the ruling All People’s Congress party in March last year, followed by his subsequent sacking as Vice President of the Republic Sierra Leone.
He was accused by the ruling party of lying about his religious faith, educational qualification and that he was also involved in some anti-party activities.
In what observers have described as a landmark judgment, the apex court in the country, where the former Vice President initially sought redress, ruled that President Ernest Koroma acted within ‘supreme executive authority’ to sack his vice.
After going on self-imposed exile in Ghana, the former Vice President has filed a 25-page submission in the ECOWAS Court of Justice, asking for US$210 million (over two trillion Leones) in compensation and damages, legal cost, plus his reinstatement.