A High Court in Sierra Leone has further restricted the powers of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) executive while allowing the party’s internal electoral process to continue.
Justice Adrian Fisher issued an interim order limiting senior APC officials from performing their normal party functions as a legal dispute over the party’s leadership and internal administration continues.
The order allows the APC’s outstanding internal elections and related petitions to proceed, with all elections and petitions required to be concluded within 21 days.
National Chairman and Leader Osman Foday Yansaneh and National Secretary General Lansana Dumbuya have been permitted to sign approved party payments, giving them a limited administrative role despite the wider restrictions on the executive.
There will be no caretaker arrangement for the Secretary General, allowing him to continue in a limited capacity because of his knowledge of the party’s affairs and ongoing activities.
The latest order follows an earlier injunction issued by Justice Fisher on 27 August, which restrained Mr Yansaneh and Mr Dumbuya from presenting themselves as APC executive members or performing functions associated with their offices.
The earlier order also restricted them from convening or attending executive meetings, managing the party’s affairs and carrying out day-to-day administrative functions. The restrictions were extended to other members of the APC National Executive serving under the party’s 2022 Constitution.
The legal dispute centres on the tenure and legitimacy of the current national executive.
The executive was elected in 2023 for a three-year term, with its mandate becoming a central issue in the legal challenge. As the term approached its end, disagreements emerged over whether the leadership could remain in office and how the party should transition to new leadership.
The Political Parties Regulation Commission subsequently allowed the existing leadership additional time to manage the party while its internal electoral arrangements were being addressed.
That decision was challenged by APC members Alfred Peter Conteh and Mohamed Sheridan Kamara, who questioned the continued authority of the executive and the legality of the arrangements allowing it to remain in control.
The dispute has also involved complaints and petitions arising from the APC’s internal elections.
The latest court order provides a route for those electoral disputes to be resolved while restricting the wider powers of the national executive.
The court has not yet made a final determination on the underlying dispute over the legitimacy and tenure of the APC leadership.
The case will return to Court Six on 19 October 2026.
The proceedings could have significant implications for the APC’s internal leadership structure and its preparations for the completion of its electoral process.
