One of the popular contenders in the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) approaching election, CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ. has Monday 22 April 2024 officially thrown his hat in the ring for the position of a Public Relations Officer. Lawyer CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ. made his intention and candidacy public for the Public Relations Office of the SLBA during a declaration ceremony hosted at Chidera Chambers, Hill Side Bye Pass Road Off Pademba Road, Freetown.

Speaking to journalists and colleagues, CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ. said since the Sierra Leone Bar Association is charged with specific mandates, he will be seeking the welfare of the entire membership of the association, firmly upholding the Rule of Law, restore respect for constitutionality, making sure that justice is fully assured. He reassured that his administration as the face and mouthpiece of the Sierra Leone Bar Association is set to revive strong synergies with national and international professional organizations including the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists. He vividly recalled that there has been a strong synergy between the SLBA and SLAJ, which he observed has over the years waned down drastically due to political interference backed by the infiltration of partisan politics in the association.   

CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ. furthered that his office as the Public Relations Officer of the Bar Association will interact with all including sister lawyer/legal organizations in ensuring that the past glories of the SLBA is fully restored. ‘We shall be running a newsletter periodically to keep lawyers and the wider public of what the Sierra Leone Bar Association is doing’. He pointed out the silent of the Bar Association is of great public concern that require urgent actions, adding that the proposed newsletter shall also serve as the voice of the Bar ,Association especially on what the Bar shall be doing as a professional organization.

CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ. said his works shall always reflect the general position of the Bar Association, noting that leadership is generally not a one man business. ‘I have been a team player and I believe in working with a team’, he said.

Asked about his opinion, observations and personal impression about the performance of the incumbent SLBA president Eddinia Michaela Swallow, CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ. replied; ‘I am not satisfy with her administration at all. The Bar Association is dormant. And lawyers are not even aware of what is happening in their association. The silent of the Bar Association is a concern to the public’.

He thus encouraged journalists to carefully read the Memorandum of Understanding of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and other articles to know exactly where the Bar Association has deviated from its mandates.

On national partisan politics and the Bar Association, CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ. said; ‘It does not matter whether you are a member of the Sierra Leone People’s Party or the All People’s Congress, you can be my guy’. He said; ‘Wara is my guy and she is the fittest candidate for the job of the presidency of the Sierra Leone Bar Association’. He said he has never been a member of any political party in Sierra Leone, nor does he intend putting on any political party regalia. I don’t have problem with anybody, reaffirmed CHARLIE ISREAL WILLIAMS ESQ.