By: Isatou Sarr
Counsel Lamin J. Darboe, lawyer for former Auditor General Modou Ceesay, on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring his client’s removal from office unconstitutional, saying reinstatement would have been impractical under the circumstances.
Speaking after the judgment, Darboe said Ceesay would not seek a review of the ruling despite the court’s refusal to reinstate him.
“Even though there’s no reinstatement, I am happy with the declaration that the action of the executive was unconstitutional and unlawful,” Darboe told journalists.
He says the judgment sets an important constitutional precedent by reaffirming the limits of executive authority over holders of constitutionally protected public offices.
Darboe said his legal team had anticipated that reinstatement would pose practical difficulties because of the nature of the Auditor General’s office.
“I know everybody wants him to be reinstated, but that is a difficult situation,” he said. “The Auditor General works very closely with the government, government departments and the presidency. If that working relationship has broken down, it becomes very difficult to function effectively.”
He says cooperation between the Auditor General and the executive is essential for the effective discharge of the office’s constitutional responsibilities, adding that his legal team had accepted from the outset that reinstatement was unlikely to be a practical remedy.
Darboe also distinguished Ceesay’s case from that of former nominated National Assembly member Ya Kumba Jaiteh, whose reinstatement was ordered by the courts, noting that Jaiteh served in the legislature whereas the Auditor General functions within the executive branch.
“We are absolutely happy with the judgment,” he said.
Ceesay had sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice and the Inspector General of Police, challenging the legality of his removal from office.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the removal violated the Constitution and the National Audit Act but declined to order Ceesay’s reinstatement, noting that Cherno Amadou Sowe had already been appointed Auditor General and had served in the position for nine months.
Instead, the court ordered the payment of Ceesay’s outstanding salaries and allowances up to the expiry of his tenure, together with damages for the violation of his constitutional rights.
The court held that reinstatement would not be in the public interest, citing evidence that the working relationship between Ceesay and the executive had irretrievably broken down.
The ruling brings to a close a closely watched constitutional challenge while reaffirming the constitutional protection of the office of the Auditor General against unlawful executive interference.