Lawyers Society is very constrained as a result of the delay in their registration. This delay emerges from their contribution to national discourse on rule of law and constitutional instruments since its formation in 2024. This was revealed in a statement issued on 3 September 2026 when the organization claimed that Government of Sierra Leone refused to allow the corporate registration of the Society in Sierra Leone, and as a result, have to use individuals to file their cases to the Supreme Court on this matter, instead of the Lawyers Society Sierra Leone. This has also constrained them from participating in national events, doing business with organizations and seeking funding.
Documents obtained from Lawyers Society reveal that there has been overbearing bureaucracies from the Corporate Affairs Directorate since November 2024 to confirm the name check for Lawyers Society Sierra Leone, thereby stifling their registration. As a result, the organisations cannot operate as a company and legal entity, with rumors indicating they are being blocked by the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) Executive to register.
Additionally, Lawyers Society Sierra Leone is also blocked from registration as a not-for-profit organization with the local council, with allegations that it faked a registration certificate by the Freetown City Council (FCC) in November 2024, on the eve of the launch of the organization. Lawyers Society believed they went through due process to obtain the registration, but the FCC claimed they registered through fictitious means, denying any formal registration by the Society. The Council launched an investigation into the issue but till date the outcome has never been made public. The SLBA also wrote to the FCC demanding answers for the registration of Lawyers Society and questioning the Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyers’s judgement for attending the Society’s launch in November.
To date, Lawyers Society continue to struggle with their registration efforts, and this demonstrates a violation of the freedom of association by lawyers, and a worrying sign of the depreciating right and freedoms for citizens in Sierra Leone.