By: Melvin Tejan Mansaray
Newly appointed Court of Appeal Judge, Honorable Justice Fatmata Bintu Aladi has made suggestion as to how she thinks the judiciary of Sierra Leone can help simmer down the growing number of rape and sexual offences in the country.
Justice Aladi made her suggestion during the parliamentary vetting by the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service, held on 22nd June, 2020 at Committee Room No.1, Parliament Building Tower Hill, and Freetown.
Speaking, Hon. Emilia Lollo Tongi, the first and only female Independent Member of Parliament with passion said that the office of Justice Aladi if approved will be urgently and very much needed. “We are in tears today because the raping club in the country is devastating every woman. A little girl of five was raped,” She said.
Hon. Tongi’s submission was interjected with a point of order by the leader of the main opposition, beckoning her to be general but on that specific issue (allege sexual penetration and killing of five years old Khadija Saccoh).”The leadership is going to meet today, the police have commenced investigation,” the opposition said.
Hon. Tongi craved the indulgence of Justice Aladi to look into issues of rape and sexual abuses imploring her to use her office to deter community and family settlement of issues of sexual abuses of women and girls. As a woman, please fight for us, an emotional Hon. Tongi said. She noted that despite the sexual offences law has been enacted; some people are actually taking girls and women’s issues for granted.
It seems as if nothing is being done, to the point that people were coincidentally staging a peaceful protest at the Cotton Tree because of the continuing spate of rape and violence against women and girls.
She said some people are now making mockery of the hands off our girl’s campaign lunched by the First Lady, adding that if Justice Aladi is approved, she must give premium to women and girls issues. Make sure you bring all the female lawyers together and make sure nobody goes free, because it is high time to put a stop to rape, Hon. Tongi said.
“Madam Aladi, we are in tears that have run not only today but ever since unabatedly. Some women might not even have kids anymore, go to Aberdeen, none stop little girls on the street, going on, and on, and on, “She said.
Hon. Tongi urged her fellow women to speak out, “the louder we talk the more they will hear us.”
In her brief voluntary response, the soft spoken and charming Hon. Justice Aladi said she and her colleagues watched the demonstration happening at the Attorney General’s Office wherein people wore black staging a seat detesting abuses on women and girls. Suggesting a solution to this mind bugging issue and topical issue, Hon. Justice Aladi said: “We were just saying perhaps even though we have just created a new sexual offences division, the division exists but the judges do not exclusively seat on sexual offences.”
Justice Aladi nonetheless suggested that the Chief Justice assign Judges that will seat exclusively on these matters.” We were just saying that perhaps, for us to have a quick impact on the society, perhaps we should have Judges sitting exclusively on sexual offences to fast track for a year or so and see what impact it will have on society.”
Justice Aladi however expressed that a testing of this approach and its outcome, will be a yardstick to determine the state of affairs. Apparently, the Committee discovered that Justice Aladi is more than qualified to hold the office for which the President appointed her. She was called to the Bar in 2003 and has served as Magistrate and Judge of the High Court. Hon. Justice Aladi was one time Vice President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and has served extensively in the judiciary which she said has been undergoing reform.
Justice Aladi is set to surpassed her father, who himself was a lawyer and served as an Appeal Court Judge, a position that she would be holding if approved and might even supersede if she can be appointed to serve the highest court, Supreme Court. Her appointment is expected to be confirmed by the Whole House in the upcoming or subsequent plenary sitting of the Sierra Leone Parliament.
