Conteh later spent a considerable number of years in Belize, where he served as the country's chief justice before returning to Sierra Leone.

Conteh was born on 5 August 1945 in the village of Rogbere, Gbinleh Dixon Chiefdom in Kambia District, British Sierra Leone.

In late 2007, Conteh was nominated as a candidate to become Chairperson of the African Union Commission in early 2008,[2] but he was not successful, with Jean Ping of Gabon being elected.

[4] In 2007 and 2010, Conteh authored two decisions affirming the common law doctrine of aboriginal title and the existence of Maya customary land tenure in the Toledo District of Belize.

The "landmark victory" is predicted to have "far-reaching implications" for "logging, mining, and petroleum concessions in what the Maya community claims is over 500,000 acres of ancestral homeland.