By Mabinty M. Kamara
In an effort to minimize challenges and abuses faced by women in Police detention, Advocaid –an advocacy group has called for an increase in the number of females recruited into the Sierra Leone Police.
The group referenced a case of a woman called Baindu (not her name) who was arrested in late 2022 and detained in Pujehun Police Station, Southern Sierra Leone during which she was allegedly raped by a policeman who was on night shift.
“The matter was investigated by the Complaint, Discipline and Internal Investigations Department (CDIID) of the Sierra Leone Police and the Family Support Unit (FSU), and the police officer was arrested
and suspended while the investigation was ongoing. The CDIID disciplinary hearing found that the police officer was guilty of five counts,” a statement by the group reads in part.
It added that disciplinary actions were also recommended, such as dismissal from the police force. The group acknowledged that the policeman was on the 27 of June 2022 charged with rape, a move described by Advocaid as an important step forward in accountability for human rights violations by law enforcement officers.
“AdvocAid commends the Sierra Leone Police, the CDIID, and the Director of Public Prosecutions for their prompt action. This is one of the first cases where a police officer accused of sexual
violence against a detainee has been charged to court. AdvocAid will be monitoring the trial,” it noted.
Baindu was later sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for manslaughter and is currently detained in the Freetown Female Correctional Centre and will be moving from there to attend the court hearings that commenced on the 27th of February this year in Pujehun.
“An increase in female police officers and systems in place to ensure that female detainees are not monitored by male police or prison officers (On a monitoring visit, AdvocAid was informed that Pujehun police station only has five female officers compared to around 95 male officers,” the statement reads.
The campaigners also called for the domestication of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and
Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders and the Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa.
It added that actions should be taken on the recommendations in the Amnesty International report on the lack of police accountability in
Sierra Leone, while calling for increased support to civil society groups to enable them to monitor the group.
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