The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Segehpoh Solomon Thomas, was absent from the Supreme Court hearing of cases surrounding the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

His lawyer, Honorable Hindolo Gevao Esq., informed the court that the Speaker is suffering from diarrhea.

Speaker Thomas, who presided over the controversial passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill in Parliament on 10th August 2026, is listed as a defendant in one of the cases filed at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court fixed 7th October 2026 to hear all matters filed concerning the Amendment Bill, after President Julius Maada Bio declined to assent to the Bill and referred constitutional questions to the court under Section 122(1).

The Bill was presented for presidential assent on 10th September, after it was passed by a voice vote with 97 members recorded in support. The vote remains highly contested.

Opposition APC MPs walked out of the chamber before the vote after Speaker Thomas ruled that the requirement was a majority of members present and voting, and not the two-thirds of the full membership (100 of 149 MPs) required under Section 108 of the 1991 Constitution as argued by the opposition and many legal experts.

The Amendment Bill proposes major changes including reducing the presidential first-round victory threshold from 55% to 50% plus one.

The hearing is expected to continue expeditiously, according to the Supreme Court.