Legal Aid and Traders on crime in Waterloo The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles has disclosed plans to set up a committee to bring down the crime rate in Waterloo and its environs. The committee will comprise stakeholders including representatives of the Petty Traders Association and trusted intermediaries. Ms. Carlton-Hanciles was speaking to a cross section of the executive of the Petty Traders Association for the Western Area Rural District who had called on her on Wednesday, July 27. ‘The committee will be responsible for settling any matter that is not a crime,’ Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said. ‘We are talking of matters of debts, disputes between husband and wife and landlord and tenant. This should help decongest the police and the courts.’ Ms. Carlton-Hanciles drew attention to the high crime rate in Waterloo which accounts for the highest in the Western Area. She added that rape is one of the most common crimes in the area.
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The Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board secured discharges for three accused persons who were standing trial at the Ross Road High Court on Tuesday, July 26. The accused persons were charged with very serious offences ranging from manslaughter to robbery with violence and wounding with intent. One of the accused, Sorie Sesay was charged with Manslaughter and had been in detention, most of the time on remand, since he was arrested on 13 June 2015 and taken to the Kissy Mess Mess Police Station for allegedly murdering one Ismael Turay of Wellington. The case against him was committed to the High Court in January 2016 were he made eleven appearances before his discharge. Mohamed Conteh was charged with robbery with violence and had been on remand since his arrested in July 2015. He is alleged to have robbed one Fatmata Bunduka of valuables and money to the tune of five hundred thousand leones (Le500, 000). He was discharged after six appearances at the High Court. Umaru Bangura on the
The Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA), Mr. Julian Cole has called on the Sierra Leone Legal Board to assist with finding a solution to issues of bail processing and approval. Cole noted that those charged with approving bail do impose their own conditions and this is imposing obstacles in securing bail for accused persons. Cole registered the concern when the new executive of the Bar Association met with the management of the Legal Aid Board on Tuesday, July 26. Cole lauded the Legal Aid Board for the significant progress in promoting access to justice and the commitment shown by its lawyers in handling a lot of cases in court. The President of the Association, Ms. Rhoda Souffian Kargbo Nuni said her Association will build on the partnership between the two institutions. ‘If you need any assistance from us, please let us know,’ she said. ‘When the Board succeeds, the profession can take some of the credit.’ Ms. Nuni lauded the Board for employing
Members of the Citizens Advisory Bureau Working Committee have adopted the Bye-Laws for the soon-to-established Citizens Advisory Bureau (CAB) at a meeting at the AFRICELL Office on Bathurst Street in Freetown on Tuesday. The Committee was put together at a stakeholders’ workshop on June 9 at the Atlantic Hall of the National Stadium Hostels to educate and discuss ideas about the Bureau which will offer Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Referral services in the community. The meeting was convened under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board. It attracted twelve Tribal Headmen from the Western Area, Councilors from the Western Area Urban and Rural District Councils and representatives of the Sierra Leone Police, the Sierra Leone Correctional Service, National Youth Commission and civil society groups. The Consultant for the meeting, Madam Memunata Pratt from the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Fourah Bay College led the discussions on the d
AG speaks on justice at Legal Aid event in Waterloo The Government is committed to providing justice to the poor. You do not have to be the richest or the most educated to access justice in an equitable and timely manner. Those who brag about their status and use it to take advantage of the poor must know that ‘ar do am e lef boff’ (meaning impunity) is now a thing of the past. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Joseph Kamara made the remarks at a gathering of around five thousand residents of Waterloo and its environs at a Legal Aid outreach event at the Med Porch Entertainment ground on Sunday, July 17. The Attorney-General stressed the importance of women’s right in national development. He called on men who are in the habit of treating their partners shabbily to start treating them with respect, noting that the Board will stand with these women to ensure their respects are respected. ‘You cannot treat your wives badly by beating and driving them out o
Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone Thirteen of the twenty indigents from Tombo Village, who were charged with Conspiracy, Housebreaking and Larceny in January, have been able to meet their bail conditions. The twenty indigents which included one female, had been granted bail in February, but the conditions were such that they were not able to meet them. As all cards turned in their favor this morning, Magistrate Binneh Kamara was kind enough to modify the bail conditions, which only thirteen of them were able to meet. Their relatives were jubilant when they saw the young adults of Tombo, at liberty once more. Legal Aid Board lawyers are representing them. By: Derek Nat-George Head of Media and Public Relations
Legal Aid wins its First Acquittal from the Appeal Court of Sierra Leone A seventeen-year old boy Lamin Bockarie from Kenema has had his 15-year sentence for sexual penetration quashed after the Legal Aid Board appealed against his conviction. Lawyer Ivan Sesay of the Legal Aid Board made the case for appeal on Monday, July 4. He told the court that the maximum sentence of 15 years slammed on the boy is excessive and incompatible with the Children’s and Young Persons Act which provides a much lower sentence for juvenile offenders. He further noted that the High Court should have considered the fact that the boy is a first-time offender in handing down its sentence. He also told the court that the conviction is unjust, unrealistic and a nullity in law. He said the High Court did not consider the fact that the Magistrate Court was not properly constituted to preside over the matter. ‘The case should have been presided over by one Magistrate and two Justices of the Peace
Court Activities– 4 th to 9 th July, 2016. Day Adult Juvenile Court Of Jurisdiction Total Male Female Male Female High Court Magistrate Court Juvenile Court Files Clients File(S) Client(S) File(S) Client(S) File(S) Client(S) Mon 4/7/2016 17 Nil Nil Nil 10 14 2 3 Nil NIL 12 17 Tue 5/7/2016 54 2 1 Nil 40 52 4 4 1 1 45 57 Wed 6/7/2016 18 Nil 2 Nil 6 7 6 11 2 2 14 20 Thur 7/7/2016 23 Nil