By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone’s lawmakers have revoked the controversial State of Emergency on sexual violence amidst the introduction of a bill seeking to amend the existing sexual offenses law.
The move comes five months after the declaration of the Emergency by President Julius Maada Bio, in response to an alarming rate of violence against women and girls.
The presidential declaration however divided the nation, with critics accusing the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) of seeking to use the State of Emergency as a pretext to clampdown on political opponents.
Sidi Mohamed Tunis (SLPP MP), Majority Leader and Head of Government business, moved the motion revoking the State of Emergency on Wednesday. He said they did so in anticipation of the passing of the amended version of the 2012 Sexual Offenses Act.
Mr Tunis said provisions in the ‘Sexual Offences Amendment Act 2019’, which is before the House now, were strong enough to address the concerns raised in the presidential declaration.
“I have read it several times and I am convinced that the amendments have taken care of the concerns that warranted the presidential declaration,” he said on a telephone interview.
The current law prescribes a maximum sentence of 15 years for people who sexually abuse minors. The amended one makes it life sentence. This was exactly the major provision in the State of Emergency, but also the main sticky point.
The opposition, particularly the All People’s Congress (APC), argued that instead of a state of emergency, existing laws should be toughened. Critics also decried the fact that the presidential declaration came before parliamentary approval of the Emergency.
The debate culminated into its controversial approval, despite the rejection of the APC which had a majority seat in the House at the time.
The State of Emergency was supposed to pave the way for the government to deploy resources to enhance and fast track investigation and trial, as well as toughen punishment for convict.
In his declaration, President Bio announced a six-point action to be immediately implemented by various government agencies, including the setting up of special divisions within both the police and the judiciary to tackle cases involving minors. All government hospitals were ordered to provide free medical services to victims of rape and sexual violence.
Mr Tunis said the government has no regret passing the State of Emergency, noting that five months was too long a time to have waited for an amended law.
According to reports, at least about two people were given the maximum sentence under the State of Emergency.
Tunis said besides that they believe the State of Emergency has had great impact on the fight against sexual violence.
However, like the process leading to the declaration of the State of Emergency, the procedure being used to pass the amended Act has also provoked misgivings.
The Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice (LAWYERS) was a vocal supporter of the presidential declaration, in spite of its concerns over procedural matters. It has also been monitoring the implementation process.
LAWYERS’ President, Fatmata Sorie, said while they were grateful with the amendment, the apparent secrecy in the process has left no room for stakeholders input.
“There is no time for us to lobby and get any change we will want to see in the new bill,” she said.
Her concerns include the extent of criminalization of sexual offences, compromises by family members of victims, and the penalty for under aged offenders.
In the current law, under aged offenders are not criminally liable. And Mrs Sorie and others say there are so many child sexual offenders that the issue deserves serious attention.
The issue of under aged perpetrators was also a sticky point in the State of Emergency which called for a blanket life sentence for all convicts.
Some rights defenders were concerned that this was unfair for children who they argue couldn’t be entirely liable for their actions.
The life sentence for offenders was the most important aspect of the State of Emergency declaration, and Mrs Sories and her group are happy that it has been included in the amended bill.
“It’s absolutely a very great thing for us,” she said. “It shows that the government is listening to us.”
Another of her concerns is that the amended bill wasn’t adequately gazetted.
Discussions on the amended Act began on Wednesday and it’s expected that it could be approved any day.
The LAWYERS’ president, despite her reservations, hopes that the limitations of the amended bill will be taken care of by subsequent related laws.
“What we wanted was for the Act to be amended to reflect to the concerns contained in the President’s declaration…What we would have wanted was for the views of us the stakeholders to be reflected. But the fact that we have an amended law is also welcoming,” she said.
© 2019 Politico Online
