PARLIAMENT MOURNS MRS. ALARI FRANCESS SHAW.

The Parliament of Sierra Leone on Sunday, 27th April, in the year of our Lord 2025, opened and signed a Book of Condolence during the lying-in-state ceremony of the late Mrs. Alari F. Shaw at the State Hall of Parliament at Tower Hill in Freetown. The former Staff of Parliament died at age 64 and served as a Confidential Secretary in the Office of the Clerk of Parliament from 1986 to 2025.

Speaking on the declaration of purpose, the Director of Parliamentary and Public Relations, Sheku Lamin Turay, said that Mrs. Alari F. Shaw was a hard-working, dedicated, and committed Staff of Parliament who contributed to ensuring that the Office of the Clerk of Parliament effectively and efficiently delivered on its mandate. According to the citation, Mr. Turay told distinguished mourners and family members that the deceased was the first staff in the parliamentary history to have been given such a civic funeral rite. He also opined that the deceased served as a Staff of Parliament from 1986 to 2025.

Giving his tribute in honour of the deceased, the Leader of Government Business, Hon. Mathew S. Nyuma said in a solitary tone that the former Staff of Parliament was a true mother who was personally concerned about him. He further stated that at some point, he rallied behind his colleagues to recommend the deceased to serve as a Justice of Peace (JP) in recognition of her selfless contributions to Parliament and the country as a whole. He told family members and mourners that the deceased came across influential people and impacted the lives of many, irrespective of who they were or where they came from. He consoled the family members to continue to work in unity and to be mindful that working together as a family is the best for humanity to continue to thrive. He concluded by encouraging the family members to accept their condolences as members of the SLPP.

In his tribute, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh said that he was giving tribute as a result of the deceased’s hard work, dedication, and commitment to work. He furthered that the deceased’s lying-in-state is a manifestation of her hard work and dedication to service. “Alari Shaw is irreplaceable. She was a librarian and a researcher. If you ask her for a document, she will produce it for you,” he noted and consoled the family members.

In a special acknowledgement of her hard work and dedication to service, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh invoked Standing Order 42 and conferred a posthumous honorary title: “Honourable” on Mrs. Alari Francess Shaw in recognition of her hard work and dedication to serving the institution for thirty-nine years.

The Director of the Parliamentary and Public Relations Department, who also served as the Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Sheku Lamin Turay said how grateful he is to the deceased as a result of her timely intervention in keeping his offer letter when he applied to work for Parliament. He said that in the midst of several concerns about his absence to collect the letter, it was only the deceased who stood firm like a mother and ensured he collected the said letter after three months.

In her tribute, the Director of the Parliamentary Commission’s Secretariat Office, Mrs. Nancy Onana Jalloh, with a heavy heart, told the mourners and family members that her encounter with the deceased had over the years helped to shape her life. She recalled when she had a disagreement with a colleague staff some years ago, but it was the deceased who swiftly intervened, and that matter was resolved immediately. She consoled the family members not to lose hope, as Mrs. Alari F. Shaw is on the bosom of the Lord.

The lying-in-state ceremony was climaxed by mourners who filed past the open casket, laying of wreaths, and signing of the Book of Condolence.

Parliamentary and Public Relations Department

Parliament of Sierra Leone

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