By Dr. Fatimawahab Babih
For most Sierra Leoneans, “judiciary” is just a word, and “high court” is just a building because this institution and its judges are not serving to work for the people or justice in that country.
Once again, the heinous gang rape of a sixteen-year-old in 2022 is becoming a test case for how judges handle rape cases in Sierra Leone. This case is not an isolated incident; it is one of hundreds that go unadjudicated, unnoticed, and unreported. Thanks to the unyielding perseverance of this courageous family, they seek justice for their daughter despite the numerous obstacles they face in the judicial system.
However, Abu Bakar Sannoh, the all-powerful High Court Judge in Bo City, continues to play with the lives of rape survivors by obstructing justice.
As we wrote in the Open Letter to him on May 22, 2024, and after adjourning the case last month, Judge Sannoh again postponed it this week to attend a supposedly more important meeting in Kenema, offering no explanation to the family. This family, already strained financially, spent their meager resources to appear in court, only to be met with further delays and indifference toward their plight.
Adding to this injustice is the deafening silence of Sierra Leone’s mainstream media and civil society. They have failed to protest or report these egregious delays in justice. We only know about this case because of the brave ordinary citizens who have shared the news.
This blatant daylight robbery of justice compels us to ask:
- Where are the journalists?
- Where is the Legal Aid Board?
- Where is the Bar Association?
- Where are the women’s organizations?
- Where are the civil society organizations?
Where is Fatima Jabbie Maada Bio, who has amassed fame and wealth from international donor funds under the guise of fighting against rape in Sierra Leone? I quote from my book, The UNBECOMING Mrs. Maada Bio: A Case of First Lady Syndrome (p.102), as reported by Awareness Times:
…During a recent radio address aired over the popular AIRadio station on 26th November 2018, First Lady Fatima Bio categorically stated that she will do all in her power to ensure that sexual and other forms of violence against girls and women is eradicated.
What happened to this promise that literally made Mrs. Bio a celebrity as the poster first lady for the fight against rape in Africa? By now, all Sierra Leoneans know her words were just honey to attract international donor funds, making her one of the wealthiest African First Ladies.
SHAME on Fatima Jabbie Maada Bio and all contributing to our nation’s BLEAK future.
A nation that fails to protect and safeguard its girls from exploitation and trauma is a nation on a path to a doomed future.
What a TRAVESTY of JUSTICE!
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 