A primary school teacher accused of raping an underage pupil in the southern Pujehun District of Sierra Leone has been found guilty.
Umaru Bah was sentenced to 16 years in jail for sexually penetrating his 14-year old victim, a Class Six pupil at the Roman Catholic Primary School in Ngandorhun Village, Malen Chiefdom.
The 22-year-old convict, who taught at the school, was tried on one count charge of sexual penetration by the High Court sitting in Pujehun Town.
Justice Alfred Tommy Ganda pronounced the verdict on Monday, 4th July, eight days after the trial commenced. The hearing lasted for three sittings.
The convict, according to the prosecution, on an unknown date between 1st April and 18th May 2022, sexually penetrated the victim at his residence. He had taken the child from an entertainment event organized by the school to his house, the court was told during the hearing.
A total of five witnesses testified in the course of the trial, including the victim, her father, her mother and the Police Prosecutor, Detective Sergeant Mbayo Alex Jusu. The elder sister of the victim, Massah Sama, also testified.
Mr Bah made his first court appearance on 27th June, and the second appearance on 30th June. The third sitting on the case, on Friday 1st July, was cut short after the medical examiner failed to turn up.
Before passing the verdict on Monday morning, Justice Ganda said that the prosecution proved their case “beyond all reasonable doubt,” citing in particular the victim’s testimony and the medical report.
The defense counsel, O. B. Kamara, pleaded for the judge to temper justice with mercy, noting that the convict was a first time offender.
The judge noted that his final decision on the sentence took account of the defense’s plea of mercy.
Mr Bah denied the charge throughout the trial. After he was found guilty on Monday, he was again given an opportunity to speak before his sentencing. He reiterated his innocence.
He shed tears when his sentence was pronounced. He was immediately taken to the nearby Pujehun Correctional Center, in handcuff.
For the victim’s family, it was a source of relief.
“I feel happy. It was a difficult experience in the beginning, but I am happy because when the government passes a law and you violate it, you must pay for it,” the elderly father of the victim, Musa Moriba, told ManoReporters outside the court.
“I am not the one who jailed him, it’s the law that jailed him,” the visibly emotional father added, and he sent a word of caution to everyone who has a children, to ensure that they obey the law.
The case attracted huge attention in Pujehun, after it was alleged that the police attempted to compromise it after allegedly receiving bribe from the family of the accused. The police denied the allegation.
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 phenomenon is a major hindrance to girl child education in the district.
