Abdul Tejan-Cole is a

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

an Oku legal practitioner and former Commissioner of Sierra Leone's Anti-Corruption Commission. He was awarded the 2001

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

award.

Biography

Tejan-Cole holds a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(Hons) degree from Fourah Bay College,

University of Sierra Leone The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone. Established in February 1827, it is the oldest university in Africa. As of May 2005, the University of Sierra Leone was reconstituted into ...

, a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and a post-graduate diploma in

International Trade Law International trade law includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries. However, it is also used in legal writings as trade between private sectors. This branch of law is now an independent field of study as m ...

from the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...

. He was awarded a Teaching Fellowship in

Human Rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York, in addition to a Yale World Fellowship. He worked as a trial attorney and appellate counsel in the Special Court for Sierra Leone and taught law at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He was the Deputy Director at the

International Center for Transitional Justice The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to pursuing accountability for mass atrocity and human rights abuse through transitional justice mechanisms. ICTJ officially open ...

’s (ICTJ) Cape Town Office and worked as Adviser and Component Manager Law Justice and Human Rights - Justice Sector Development Programme. He served as Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, and later as Vice President and then as President. He was Board Chair of the

Open Society Initiative for West Africa The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is an organization in West Africa. OSIWA was established in 2000 as a part of the global network of Soros Foundations. OSIWA claims to promote "open societies where democracy, good governance, th ...

(OSIWA) (2002–07) and is former Chair of

West Africa Democracy Radio West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) is a trans-territorial, sub-regional broadcaster based in Dakar, Senegal. WADR is a project of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) set up in 2003 to protect and defend the ideals of democratic and ...

(WADR) and a board member of the

Open Society Justice Initiative Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the st ...

(OSJI), Timap for Justice, and West Africa Civil Society Institute. He was appointed Commissioner of the Anti Corruption Commission in December 2007 and resigned in 2010. He served as the Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa from 2011 until Feb 6th, 2018. Tejan-Cole started playing cricket back at the

Prince of Wales Secondary School Prince of Wales Secondary School is a public secondary school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. History Prince of Wales is named in honour of Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent to the Canadian throne. The ostrich feath ...

and was later selected to the Sierra Leone national cricket team, where he remained until his retirement. He currently owns a junior club in Sierra Leone, called the Abdul Tejan-Cole Cricket Team, which is an affiliate of the

Sierra Leone Cricket Association Sierra Leone Cricket Association is the official governing body of cricket in Sierra Leone. Its headquarters is currently located in Brookfields National Stadium. The association represents Sierra Leone at the International Cricket Council (ICC ...

(SLCA).

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Sierra Leonean lawyers Fourah Bay College alumni Alumni of University College London Columbia University faculty Oku people 21st-century Sierra Leonean lawyers {{africa-law-bio-stub Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws