The Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) is an association of all Legal Practitioners duly enrolled to practice in Sierra Leone. Traditionally, it holds its Annual General Meetings (AGM) in June to elect its executive members. This year, the current executive without consulting its members, has chosen to hold the AGM on the 6th of April. This is not only a shift from the traditional months, but this date falls squarely on one of the most important days of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Additionally, even though the greater majority of lawyers reside and conduct their business in Freetown, the executive, without the concurrence of the general membership, has chosen Kenema City as the venue for the forthcoming AGM during the holy month of Ramadan. It is a fact that a substantial number of members of the SLBA are practicing Muslims. If the scheduled date and venue stand, this will disenfranchise a substantial number of the association’s members. There have been calls for the Bar Executive Committee (Exco) to change the date to a date after Ramadan to accommodate our Muslim brothers and sisters in light of the venue they have chosen. So far the Exco seems determined to stick to the current date.

Please sign this petition below to register your support for a change of the date for this year’s AGM to a later date .

Name: Chambers: Year of Call: