*Weaponising The Judiciary*
*By Saikujohn Barrie*
The Judiciary in Sierra Leone especially the Magistrate court system has always been mostly used as weapon to settle political scores and punish perceived enemies of those in power.
It had happened in the past and it is still happening now.
Like the Sierra Leone Police, the judiciary is most times remotely controlled by powers from above.
Ironically, all opposition members including the SLPP when in opposition were preaching against the weaponization of the police and the judiciary. Shamefully , as soon as they came to power , they started utilising both institutions to subdue their political opponents or dissenting voices.
How can the magistrate in Bonthe District grant somebody accused of manslaughter bail, while the magistrate in freetown continuously continue to deny bail to someone(LAJ) whose human rights were grossly violated by the Sierra Leone Police?
Are the two magistrates dealing with two different legal systems?
The Sierra Leone police allegedly beat him up LAJ , and allegedly injected him with an unknown substance and violently shaved or cut off his hair before even charging him to court.
Not only that , police detained some friends and family members who went to check on him and some of them were subsequently jailed just because somebody somewhere wielding state powers today,thinks that is how to teach LAJ lesson.
As if that is not enough, for the past court sittings, the state prosecutor was strangely and unusually not going to court leading to the matter being adjourned.
Do you think Sierra Leoneans are not paying attention to these things ?
He has been denied bail several times just because some people within the current government think LAJ should be punished even if it takes them to use mechanism outside the laid down principles of equality and justice…
My question to those who are controlling the magistrates and police across the country to punish their opponents, do you think power will last forever?
How would you feel, when your party is booted out of state house, possibly in 2023 or miraculously in 2028?
Look at Mohamed Kamaraimba Mansary, languishing in prison.
They said he was granted bail but since the purport granting of bail, he is still in prison and now his matter is not even being called to court while a senior SLPP top party executive who was accused of murder is walking freely and enjoying state’s facilities while the family of the deceased is crying for justice.
We have even witnessed a convicted murderer being pardoned by the President, but later they pretended as if the pardon was done by a mistake and faking Sierra Leoneans with a press statement from the office of the President, nullifying the pardon after some powerful people within the government had facilitated the man’s exit from the country.
After loud outcry, the office of the President fakely faked Sierra Leoneans by promising to set up a team to enquire how did the murder convict’s name included on the list and promising to get to the bottom of the issue…
Granted that a minister lost his job but still no news about the team the President promised to set up to look into the issue.
How many houses were burnt and people killed in falaba district few months back without police arresting any suspect up to date?
And somebody was again accused of theft and killed in cold blood; after the first incidents of killings and destruction in that took place in the district.
I can’t believe that people would be killed, houses burnt, cows unlawfully killed ,yet the killers are enjoying freedom without going through the due process of the law.
We have seen many people stabbed during the SLPP lower level elections in kenema and other places but we didn’t hear anyone being jailed for carrying out those violence.
Sadly we saw a young man whose fingers were allegedly cut off but I believe he has not gotten justice.
While recently, we witnessed political violence during the recently concluded bye elections in Tonkolili District between the APC and SLPP.
However, it is clear that those who are in prison right now and others who are being investigated are from the APC opposition.
But SLPP was condemning this kind of episodic dispensation of justice when they were in opposition.
Yet, we hear people shouting of how the judiciary is being reformed and now it is more independent, but we keep seeing the episodic dispensation of justice right across the country.
I believe our country will only move from the current mess if our institutions are allowed to do their job independently without politicians remotely controlling them.
This writer believes that our police and the judiciary are still being weaponised by politicians.
I rest my case
