Abdulai Osman Conteh (5 August 1945 – 2 August 2024) was a Sierra Leonean lawyer and politician. He was a Vice-President of Sierra Leone, who served under President Joseph Saidu Momoh before he was ousted by the military junta in 1992. Conteh later spent a considerable number of years in Belize, where he served as the country's chief justice before returning to Sierra Leone.
Early life and education Conteh was born on 5 August 1945 in the village of Rogbere, Gbinleh Dixon Chiefdom in Kambia District, British Sierra Leone. He was from Sierra Leone's Susu ethnic group, which is predominantly based in the north-eastern part of the country - especially Kambia. Conteh was raised mostly in Freetown; he attended Albert Academy and later Fourah Bay College before travelling to the UK for further studies. Dr. Conteh has the following educational qualifications: Ph.D., (International Law), 1974, King's College, Cambridge; LLB (Hons): 1971, King's College, Cambridge; LLM: 1971, London University, United Kingdom; LLB (Hons): 1969, King's College London; Barrister at Law: Called to the Bar of England and Wales, 1970, at Lincoln's Inn, London, United Kingdom; Harold Porter Prize man In Land Law, 1968. He returned home in the early 1970s and worked for the SL Law Officers Department. Dr. Conteh later went into private practice and taught law at Fourah Bay College for several years.
Political career in Sierra Leone Conteh was a member of the All Peoples Congress (APC) party. His public service in Sierra Leone has included holding the offices of Minister of Foreign Affairs (1977–1984); Minister of Finance (1984–1985);The Sierra Leone| Gazette Attorney-General and Minister of Justice (1987–1991) and First Vice-president and Minister of Rural Development (1991–1992). He served as a member of Parliament from Kambia District (his paternal home district) from 1977 to 1992.
In late 2007, Conteh was nominated as a candidate to become Chairperson of the African Union Commission in early 2008,"Secretary General of the AU; Sierra Leone's Dr.Abdulai Conteh nominated" , Cocorioko, 13 November 2007. but he was not successful, with Jean Ping of Gabon being elected."Les réactions à l’élection de Jean Ping comme président de la Commission de l’UA", Panapress (afrik.com), 1 February 2008 .
Chief Justice of Belize (2000–2010) In January 2000, Conteh became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Belize. Belize Supreme Court
In 2007 and 2010, Conteh authored two decisions affirming the common law doctrine of aboriginal title and the existence of Maya customary land tenure in the Toledo District of Belize.IPIR. 30 June 2010. "Supreme Court Affirms Maya Customary Rights For All Maya Communities In Southern Belize ." Only the villages of Conejo and Santa Cruz were parties to the 2008 ruling;Supreme Court Claims 171 & 172 of 2007, http://www.belizelaw.org/web/supreme_court/judgements/2007/Claims%20Nos.%20171%20and%20172%20of%202007%20(Consolidated)%20re%20Maya%20land%20rights.pdf however, the 2010 ruling was the result of a representative action on behalf of all the Maya communities.Supreme Court Claim 366 of 2008, http://www.belizelaw.org/web/supreme_court/judgements/CJ%20Jugments/Claim%20No.%20366%20of%202008%20-%20The%20Maya%20Leaders%20Alliance%20and%20the%20Toledo%20Alcaldes%20et%20al%20and%20The%20Attorney%20General%20of%20Belize%20et%20al%20and%20Francis%20Johnston%20et%20al.pdf The ruling voided all government leases, concessions, grants, and contracts adverse to the Maya tenure. The "landmark victory" is predicted to have "far-reaching implications" for "logging, mining, and petroleum concessions in what the Maya community claims is over 500,000 acres of ancestral homeland."Belize News. 29 June 2010. "CJ rules for Maya; implications “huge”." The government appealed the decision to the Caribbean Court of Justice, where on the eve of the hearing it conceded all of Justice Conteh's original holdings. The CCJ later awarded the Maya damages for violation of their constitutional right to have their property legally protected.Judgement, CCJ Appeal No BZCV2014/002, http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2015-CCJ-15AJ.pdf
Conteh turned 65 on 5 August 2010, forcing him to retire since his contract was not renewed by Prime Minister Dean Barrow.Oscar Ramjeet. 19 July 2010. "Controversy over retirement of Belize's chief justice ." Barrow's decision not to offer Conteh a renewal was condemned by the Belize Bar Association in a resolution criticising the "unseemly manner in which the tenure of the chief justice has been treated by the government of Belize."Belize News. 17 June 2010. "Belize Bar Association Questions Retirement of Chief Justice ." His retirement became a "national political issue because the Chief Justice is popular with the masses of the Belizean people, and is regarded by many as fair-minded and fearless. Several of his landmark rulings particularly on constitutional issues are considered "anti-government" and "anti-establishment", and many were made even under the former Musa administration."Glenn Tillett. 30 March 2010. "Barrow Hacks Belize’s Justice System? ...determined to remove Chief Justice Conteh ."
Other judicial appointments In December 2008, Conteh was appointed a Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands. In 2010, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas, where he served until November, 2015.
Personal life and death Abdulai Conteh was married to Radia Labi Conteh, and they had six children. He died after a short period of illness in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 2 August 2024, at the age of 78.
References
External links belizelaw.org