The Police in the southern district of Pujehun are under the spotlight for allegedly receiving bribe to release a rape suspect.
The suspect is a teacher at the Roman Catholic Primary School in Ngandorhun Malen, Malen Chiefdom, where he allegedly sexually penetrated his 14-year-old Class 6 pupil.
ManoReporters gathered that the incident was first reported last month, leading to the arrest of the suspect. Family members of the victim say shortly after, the police released him after his family paid them a “bribe”.
The victim’s parents and other relatives confirmed the claim of bribery to ManoReporters. Adama Moriba, her mother, said they know that the family of the suspect paid the police money which led to his release from detention.
Sama Moriba, the victim’s uncle, added that they saw the family members of the suspect raise money through borrowing from fellow villagers and shortly after the suspect was released from detention.
The victim’s father, Musa Moriba, first reported the matter to the Member of Parliament for Constituency 104, within which Ngandorhun Malen, fall.
The MP, Shiaka Sama, told ManoReporters that he immediately contacted the police when he received the report on Saturday, June 4th. He noted that the Regional Police Commander ordered the rearrest of the suspect in response. But according to Hon. Sama, two days later, on Monday, June 6th, the father of the victim visited the police station in Pujehun only to find out that the teacher was in fact not under police custody.
Hon. Sama said a police officer in Malen who is familiar with the case later told him that the suspect was rearrested but that he escaped custody.
“I told him that he was lying and that we had received information that the police in Pujehun Town had received a bribe to release the teacher. I told him that President [Julius Maada] Bio, the First Lady [Fatima Bio] and the whole world shall know about the violation and the Police’s role in protecting a criminal and a child abuser,” Hon. Sama said.
The lawmaker said 20 minutes after his phone conversation with the Police officer, a second officer from the same station called to inform him that the teacher had again been rearrested for the third time, and he even asked him [Sama] to send someone to verify it.
Hon. Sama confirmed that he sent someone who reported that the teacher was indeed under police custody. But the lawmaker is concerned that the police may be plotting another plan that could eventually see the suspect go free. He said he fears that they could write the wrong charge on the charge sheet, constituting lesser offence.
“The father cannot read and write so there is a risk that the wrong statement was written, especially when the police had the gut to release a teacher who had abused his 14-year pupil and also lied that the teacher escaped after his rearrest. We are waiting and we are watching,” he said.
The family members of the victim who spoke to ManoReporters also shared this fear. Sama Moriba, the uncle of the victim, said he has had to abandon his engagement and is fully pursuing the matter to ensure that the right thing is done.
Unlike his younger brother, Musa, Sama says he can read and write.
“This is why I am with them, I want to make sure that they do the right thing,” he said on a telephone interview. “We want to go to court and we have told them [Police] that. But they told us to wait until they are ready.”
The Moriba family says the police asked them to wait until they complete the necessary formalities before filing the case to court.
The Regional Police Chief, Commissioner Halary Sao Kanu, declined to comment when contacted.
A junior Police officer directly involved with the case in Pujehun also declined to comment and referred us to the Police Communications Unit in Freetown.
ACP Brima Kamara, Media and Communications Director of SLP, said he had no idea about the case, but he promised to find out about details of it and revert with a response.
We didn’t hear from him by the time of publication of this report.
Pujehun District has one of the highest rates of sexual and gender based violence in Sierra Leone. And rights campaigners say compromise at the level of police investigation is one of the factors hindering efforts to contain the scourge.
The situation is also a major hindrance to girl child education in the district.
Hon. Sama said he has reported the matter to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, who asked him to verify the veracity of the report.
