High Court Orders EBKUST To Reinstate A.A. Kpaka Esq & Pay All Arrears
By Chief Thomoh Kapen
Legal practitioner and lecturer, Amadu Alusine Kpaka Esq., has won a landmark legal battle against the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology (EBKUST), after the High Court declared the suspension of his salary and benefits unlawful.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday by Honourable Justice Leonard Taylor, the Court ordered EBKUST to immediately reinstate Mr Kpaka to its payroll and to pay all outstanding salary arrears and other emoluments within thirty 30 days.
The ruling is being hailed by legal scholars, academics, and governance experts as one of the most significant judicial pronouncements on university administration in recent years.
Mr Kpaka, who lectures at EBKUST, sued the University and its Vice-Chancellor and Principal after his salary and benefits were suspended without what he described as lawful authority.
He was represented by himself, alongside Polycarp Okoli Esq. and Saidu Koroma Esq. of Tejan-Sie & Tejan-Sie Law Firm. The University was represented by E.N.B. Ngakui Esq., former Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Court awarded tentative legal costs of Le65,000 to Mr Kpaka, with liberty to make further orders on costs at the end of the substantive trial. Issues of damages will be determined later.
COURT CITES UNIVERSITIES ACT, 2021
Central to the judgment was Section 15(1) of the Universities Act, 2021.
Justice Taylor ruled that the power to suspend a member of staff from office and from salary rests exclusively with the University Court, and only after a lawful investigation and sufficient cause.
The Judge held that neither the Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar, nor any other officer of the University has legal authority to suspend pay and benefits outside that process.
“Any action taken contrary to the Universities Act is unlawful, null and void,” the Court stated.
The Court described the University’s actions as “administrative indiscipline and recklessness.”
Evidence before the Court showed Mr Kpaka had written several letters seeking clarification and reinstatement, which received no meaningful response.
Justice Taylor also criticised the University Registrar for requesting the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), to suspend the Plaintiff’s salary without citing any lawful authority, and questioned TEC for acting on that request.
Speaking after the ruling, Mr Kpaka welcomed the decision.
“I am delighted, not merely because of the favourable orders granted by the Court, but because of the learned Judge’s painstaking, thorough and intellectually compelling analysis of the legal issues involved. This decision is not only a personal victory, but also an affirmation of the rule of law and statutory governance within our universities,” he said.
Legal commentators say the judgment reinforces that public bodies created by statute can only exercise powers expressly granted by law. They believe the ruling will have far-reaching implications for governance in Sierra Leone’s public universities and other statutory institutions, by compelling strict adherence to due process and lawful decision-making.
The case will proceed to full trial to determine damages and other remedies.
