answer and/or opportunity to present their own case” See MOHAMMED EL TAYYIB BAH v. THE RBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE JUDGMENT NO ECW/CCJ/JUD/11/15. 74. In capturing these fundamentals, Article 7 of the charter that deals with fair hearing provides thus: “Every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard. This comprises: 1. The right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts of violating his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force; 2. The right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty by a competent court or tribunal; 3. The right to defence, including the right to be defended by counsel of his choice; 4. The right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal”. 75. The totality of these provisions relied upon by the Applicant is to ensure that an accused person or a defendant is heard in his/her own case, that he/she is presumed innocent until otherwise established, is allowed legal representation, and is able to appeal to a higher court when dissatisfied with the decision and the hearing is concluded within a reasonable time with the overriding safeguard that the court/tribunal is impartial and competent. 76. The facts as presented by the Applicant himself show that all the safeguards above listed save one were complied with by the Respondent in the course of the hearing. He was given an opportunity to be heard and was indeed heard, premised on the fact that he was presumed innocent; he was represented by counsel of his choice and the Applicant was satisfied with the time within which the hearing was conducted as he did not allege any tardiness on the part of the Committee. 77. However, the crux of the Applicant’s case is that his right to fair hearing was violated because the Committee was incompetent same being irregular as regards the numbers of the members that deliberated on the last day of the hearing. Specifically that while Hon Justice Kassim Zannah and Hon Justice Abdullahi Yusuf took part on the first day - 23rd October 2017 however Hon Justice Abdullahi Yusuf was absent on the 9th of January 2018, being the last deliberation, and only Hon Justice Kassim Zannah heard the parties and concluded the deliberation which finalised the investigation. 23