Hon. Osman Abdal Timbo

Biography

Profile Honourable Hon. Osman Abdal Timbo

Hon. Osman Timbo is aSierra Leonean politician, lawyer, philanthropist and family man. He was bornat Murray Town Village, in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone on the 17^thof October 1985. Until his recent resignation, he was the Deputy NationalSecretary General of the All Peoples Congress (APC) political party, theprincipal draftsman of the party’s 2022 Constitution and a key figure in manytechnical works executed by the Secretariat. He presently represents the APC asa member of parliament for the Western Area Urban District, under the districtblock proportional representation system. He is also the proprietor of ABT Law;Barristers and Solicitors, a law firm in Sierra Leone. He is affectionatelycalled ‘Youngest’ by most people in the political space because of his rareblend of youthful looks and seasoned wisdom. He is a principled person with anunblemished record, and he has won the hearts of many, not just with hisintellect, but also with his unshakable belief in the power of the people.

At a time when peopleyearn for fresh ideas and bold leadership, Hon. Timbo emerges as a breath offresh air. With the confidence of a seasoned statesman, a grounded politician,and the energy of a new generation, he connects effortlessly with people in allworks of life. His eloquence, intelligence, humility, discipline, integrity andgenuine empathy, makes him not just a leader, but an inspiration.

PARENTS AND SIBLINGS

Hon. Timbo was born to thelate Hon. Chief Justice Dr. Abdulai Bapatheh Timbo and Haja Ramatu Timbo. Hisfather was a distinguished statesman who hailed from Rokulan Village, SandaTendaren, Karene District in the North – western province of the Republic ofSierra Leone; the first son of Alhaji Wuroh Timbo and Haja Neneh Rubie Timbo.During his lifetime, he worked as a private legal practitioner and politicianand later served the judiciary as a Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judge,and ultimately the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone. He was also one time chairmanof the Road Transport Corporation, first chairman of the Political PartiesRegistration Commission (now, Political Parties Regulation Commission), FulaTribal Headman for the Western Area and awarded with the insignia of GrandOfficer of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

His mother, Haja RamatuTimbo is a retired nurse practitioner, businesswoman, community and religiousorganiser. She was born in Freetown as the eldest child to Alhaji Osman Jallohand Haja Hawa Jalloh, who hailed from Lulia Village, Kama Sigi, Biriwa LimbaChiefdom, Bombali District in the Northern Province of the Republic of SierraLeone. She gave up her profession to raise her children and her siblings; adecision which was key to the future success of Hon. Timbo and his sisters.

Hon. Timbo is the last sonto his father and only son to his mother. He is sandwiched between two sistersNeneh Hawa; a public health practitioner in the UK, and Kadijatu; a charteredaccountant, auditor and entrepreneur.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

Hon. Timbo is married toAdama Osman – Timbo (nee Shaw) and they have two children; Abdulai (3) andRamatu (2). They got married in Freetown on the 7^th of January 2020.Adama is a holder of a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fourah Bay College, Universityof Sierra Leone, and a holder of a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Universityof Westminster, UK. She is currently pursuing her Bar Finals at the SierraLeone Law School. Adama is the last child to the Late Ibrahim Sorie Sanu Shawand Haja Binta Shaw, who hailed from Kabala/Falaba, in the Northen Province ofSierra Leone.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCTATION

Hon. Timbo spent his earlyformative years moving between Murray Town, Cline Town/Kanikay and BellairPark. At the tender age of one, Hon. Timbo, along with his siblings and their mother,relocated from Murray Town to Cline Town/Kanikay, in the eastern part ofFreetown, where his maternal grandparents lived in a humble abode. There, hestarted his kindergarten education at the J.S. Momoh Kindergarten school (nowcalled John F. Kennedy Memorial School). After spending a year there, he wastransferred to the King Hermann Preparatory School (now Kings IndependentSchool). When his father was appointed a Court of Appeal judge and moved to thejudges’ quarters at Bellair Park, they all relocated there and then he and hissiblings got enrolled at the Mereweather Preparatory School at Jomo KenyattaRoad. He studied at that school until standard/prep four and his mother, again,transferred him to the Tower Hill Municipal School where he sat to his NationalPrimary School Exams (NPSE) in 1996.

He gained admission intothe Sierra Leone Grammar School where he pursued his secondary education andsat to his senior school exams (WASSCE) in 2003. He spent six years at theschool and served as a school prefect, a house captain, president of theIntegrity Club, a member of the school’s quiz team and a performing artist forboth the french and drama clubs. He was a perennial best performing pupil inhis class. During the political interregnum in Sierra Leone between 1997 – 1998,he and his family fled to the Republic of Guinea and there he attended theConakry International Academy.

In 2003, Osman wasadmitted to study law at Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone,and in 2007 he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. During his time at FBC, hewas elected to serve as a member of the Students Representative Council (theStudents Parliament) – [therein, he was also elected to serve as the Council’sclerk by his peers], contested for the position of Secretary General of theSolomon Caulker Hall (an election which did not hold), was a member of theHuman Rights Clinic, a member of the Law Society and a comrade of theAuradicals Club.

Upon completion of hisundergraduate studies, he proceeded to the Sierra Leone Law School, sat to hisBar Final Exams and was called to the Sierra Leone Bar in October 2008.

He also holds a Master ofLaws degree from the University of London, several certificates in PublicPrivate Partnership Investment and International Law from the Institute ofPublic Private Partnerships, USA and the United Nations Office of LegalAffairs, respectively.

PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Hon. Timbo started hisprofessional career as a national legal associate working with the defenceoffice of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, immediately after he sat to his BarFinal exams. He proceeded from there to do his statutorily mandated pupillageat the law firm of Shears – Moses & Co. under the tutelage of EmanuelShears – Moses Esq. (late). In 2010 he joined the Pilot National Legal AidScheme as a defence lawyer representing poor people who could not affordlawyers. By the close of the pilot scheme in 2012, they had represented over5000 poor people and developed the Legal Aid Act, which gave birth to the LegalAid Board for Sierra Leone. Thereafter, he went back to private practice andworked with Solomon Jamiru & Co. solicitors, before they changed the nameto J&T Solicitors. In 2014, he was appointed to serve in the executive armof government as legal adviser in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit inthe Office of the President; a position he held until his resignation on the 6^thof March 2017. During the same period, he also served as a board member of theNational Privatisation Commission, representing the Sierra Leone BarAssociation. He was instrumental in the drafting and negotiations of several investmentcontracts, proffering legal opinion on project proposals and drafting of thePublic Private Partnership Act 2014. In 2015, he was also briefly seconded to workwith Herbert Smith – Freehills, a renowned law firm in the UK, under theInternational Lawyers for Africa Program. Ever since his resignation, he hasbeen joggling between politics and private practice as a solicitor. In 2018, heestablished his law firm; ABT Law, in memory of his late father.

POLITICAL JOURNEY

Hon. Timbo’s is aregistered member of the All Peoples Congress (APC). His political journey, asan active politician, started in 2013 when he contested for the position ofWestern Area Regional Youth Leader at the 2013 All Peoples Congress (APC) RegionalConvention. Despite being the main contender, through a process of selection,he was selected to serve as the Deputy Western Area Regional Youth Leader, aposition he held until a dissolution of the entire party executive by a courtorder in 2021. In 2018, after clinching the party’s symbol, he was nominated asthe party’s candidate for the parliamentary election in Constituency 130 inFreetown, an election he overwhelmingly won.  He subscribed to the oath of office as aparliamentarian in April 2018 and served as deputy chairman of the Legislative Committee,member of the Public Accounts Committee, member of the Energy Committee, memberof the Technical and Higher Education Committee and a member of theinter-parliamentary Union (IPU). He was a tenacious and charismatic debater.His tenure was short lived as he was removed from parliament in May 2019through a controversial court ruling. Despite this devastating blow, he did notgive up. He continued to serve the party by assisting the national secretariat.He was appointed as a member of the party’s Constitutional Review Committee andbecame the principal draftsman of the APC 2022 Constitution. He played a pivotalrole in organising the court ordered national delegates conference in 2021where the new constitution was adopted. At the February 2023 National DelegatesConference, he ran for the position of deputy national secretary general andwon by an overwhelming margin, securing the highest number of votes among allthe young candidates who vied for various other national positions. With amission to ‘#FinishUnfinishedBusiness’ in parliament, his constituency unanimouslyendorsed him, at the party’s primary elections, to return to parliament. He againwon the elections and now serves as a member of parliament representing theWestern Area Urban District under the district block proportionalrepresentation system. On the 12^th of March 2025, Hon. Timboresigned from his position as deputy national secretary general to pursue anambition to lead his party and the nation.

ASSOCIATIONS AND ACCOLADES

Hon. Timbo is a member ofthe Sierra Leone Bar Association and the Lawyers’ Society, a member of the AllPeoples Congress, a member of the Auradicals Foundation, a Mandela WashingtonFellow for Young African Leaders, a member of the Fula Progressive Union, amember of several muslim jamaats, and many more.

He is a recipient ofseveral awards, locally and internationally. Topmost of them were him beingshortlisted among the 20 Young Politicians in the World in 2019 (One YoungWorld) and being named West African Young Leader of the Year 2019(Confederation of West African Youths).