Justice Isaac Lenaola elected President of Sierra Leone Court
Supreme Court Judge Isaack Lenaola has been elected as the President of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, following the conclusion of a two-day plenary session held at The Hague, Netherlands.
In a statement issued on February 27, 2026, the court announced that its judges elected new officers to lead the institution, with Justice Lenaola, the immediate past Vice President, taking over the presidency.
Justice Andrew Hatton was elected Vice President, while Justice Tonia Barnett was elected Staff Appeals Judge. The officials will serve renewable two-year terms.
During the plenary, judges were briefed by the court’s Registrar, Prosecutor and Principal Defender. They deliberated on key issues, including proposed amendments to court rules, the draft stocktaking report and the institution’s funding.
The judges also reviewed the court’s 12th Annual Report, which covers activities for the year 2025.
The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone is mandated to handle the remaining legal obligations of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, including supervision of sentences, witness protection, preservation of archives and support to national prosecution authorities.
Justice Lenaola has been a judge at the court since 2013. He previously served in Kenya’s judiciary, joining in 2003 and rising to the Supreme Court.
Prior to that, he was the Presiding Judge of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division at the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi.
He also served as a judge and Deputy Principal Judge at the East African Court of Justice between 2011 and 2018.
Justice Hatton has also served at the court since 2013. Before his appointment, he practiced law in the United Kingdom and held part-time judicial roles.
Between 2011 and 2012, he served as an international criminal judge in the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), before being appointed a Circuit Judge in the UK in 2012.
Justice Barnett joined the court in 2021 and has served in Sierra Leone’s judiciary since 2017. She previously worked as a magistrate for over a decade, including six years as a Senior Magistrate, and has been a judge of the Court of Appeal since 2020.
