By: Sylvanus Blake, PRO-ACC
At the admired and enviable Harvard, he avowed to announce himself, us, and our ever-incrementally startling story thus far. He braved the hazards on his way to Harvard, determined to bring home the honors and he has done it again. Francis Ben (Keejay) Kaifala Esq, will indeed return home with his booths full of pride, honor, dignity, and a new wall of fame.
On Thursday 23rd May 2024, history was made again by the self-effacing, scholarly, dependable, enthusiastic, and modest People’s Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Francis Ben Kaifala Esq, (aka Keejai i.e. Alligator Pepper) as he deservingly and outstandingly bagged his Masters of Law (LLM) degree from the prestigious Harvard University Massachusetts, USA. This latest academic laurel by the buoyant FBK has further distinguished his footpath as an academic oversize in his own rights, and rightly so. FBK is one of the most accomplished young leaders Sierra Leone and Africa has produced.
Since he was appointedCommissioner, FBK’s almost six-year leadership at the helm of affairs at the ACC has been distinguished by hypnotic and enviable feats across all levels in the fight against corruption, which have couched Sierra Leone’s respectable place as one of those nations making evocative headway in tackling the scourge of corruption. FBK’s academic transcript from the Harvard Law School speaks directly to his academic dexterity as he continues to annihilate academic galas seamlessly and effortlessly, thereby taking him to the summit.
Francis scored an inimitable Honors (H), the highest grade anyone can score in ‘’Public Problems, Advice, Strategy, and Analysis, National Security Law, Global Anti-Corruption Law, and Global Governance, a high Pass (P) in Public International Law, and a respected Credit (CR) in Legal Research Writing and Analysis, making him the overall Top Performer in the 2023/24 Harvard Law School’s highly respected LLM. FBK is indeed an aptly, dangeriously, and carefully educated young man. Without gainsaying, every one of the above modules has given the ACC strong man, the much-needed knowledge, skills, and aptitude to keep spearheading our nation’s development.
It is worth noting that Harvard Law School’s LLMprogram is an intensive one-year degree program. The Graduate Program attracts intellectually curious and thoughtful candidates from a variety of legal systems and backgrounds and with various career plans. Harvard’s LLM students include lawyers working in firms, government officials, law professors, judges, diplomats, human rights activists, doctoral students, business people, and others, as the diversity of the program contributes significantly to the educational experience of all students at the School. Information sourced from the Law Schools website indicates that the Class of 2023-2024 included 182 new students from 69 countries/jurisdictions, with 98% of them being international students, 53% being women, 84% of them having at least two or more years of practice or teaching/advanced studies experience, 23% holding advanced degrees. There are 19 Fulbright Scholars in their midst, 13 Supreme or Constitutional Court clerks, 17 full or part-time law teachers, 3 judges/magistrates, and 4 prosecutors. He went there and emerged exceptional.
FBK was destined for servanthood from the onset. Before this prized Harvard Law School LLM, he held the interdisciplinary LLM in Law and Economics jointly awarded by the School of Law and the School of Economics and Finance at Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom, LLM in Comparative Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and International Human Rights at the University of Texas, Austin, in the USA and an alumnus of the prestigious Fulbright Scholars. He was a Senior Partner in the Law Firm ‘’Kaifala, Kanneh & Co.’’ a private firm he co-founded. He is a distinguished member of the Sierra Leone Bar with over 17 years standing. He was a distinguished member of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC), West African Rep of the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies of Commonwealth Africa (AAACoA), West African Rep. of the Association of African Anti-Corruption Authorities (AAACA), served as President of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), and was the 2020 United States recognized International Anti-Corruption Champion. He was also Human Rights Scholar with the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Centre for Human Rights and Justice in Austin, Texas.
Francis who attended the Sierra Leone Grammar School, graduated from Fourah Bay College among the very top in his class and won the Attorney- General, Eke Ahmed Halloway Award from the University of Sierra Leone in recognition of his outstanding performance in his Undergraduate studies in 2006. At the Sierra Leone Law School in 2007 he graduated as the "Star Pupil" (Best Student) and Valedictorian and bagged several awards that year, including the Chief Justice Ade Renner-Thomas Prize for Best Student, The Prof. Alghali Prize for best All-rounder, the C.P Foray Prize for best student Equity and Trust, the Justice George Gelaga-King Prize for Best student in Construction of Legal Documents and Drafting, etc and remains the last Star Pupil to do so with a Second Class Upper Degree since 2007. The name Francis Ben Kaifala is synonymous with the top in especially the academic circle.
This result-oriented leader has led the ACC and the national fight against corruption to unprecedented levels of acclamations in and outside Sierra Leone never seen in the past six years. His abled and watchful leadership has distinguished the ACC and Sierra Leone, as we continue to score admirably in all international and local ratings and rankings like; the Millennium Challenge Corporations’ Scorecard on the ‘Control of Corruption’ indicator, Afro Barometer on the Prevalence of Corruption,Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index,National Corruption Perception Survey, etc
Francis an ardent Catholic Christian who was well nurtured in the ways of the Lord, has continued to manifest a consummate appetite and keenness for the truth, righteousness, and fairness, and he spurns what is not right regardless of who did, where, when, and how it happens. He conducts himself with humility and utmost respect for all. He is an inspiration to many.
