Access to Justice for 500 Women in Sierra Leone

Alice* and her family live in a compound with three other families. When the Sierra Leone Government imposed a 3-day total lockdown in the beginning of April, Alice and the other families were confronted with a great difficulty. By the third day of the lockdown, all of them had run out of food – their financial means before the lockdown were just enough to cover food supplies for two days. Since they lived not far from a bakery, Alice volunteered to go out and buy some bread for everyone. She had made it to the bakery and was relieved to be almost home when she was spotted by two patrolling police officers who arrested her on the spot. 

One of our Freetown paralegal’s, Mr Ayo, was getting ready for the day when two of Alice’s worried neighbours came to his home to tell him what had happened. Ayo immediately went to the police station where he found Alice.  He spoke to the Commanding Officer and advocated for Alice. Through his intervention, she was released. 

Just hours after her arrest, Alice was walked home to her compound by two officers, bread in hand. “When I was arrested, I thought I would be kept in the police station for a long time, and feared being sent to court. But the thing I was most worried about was that the longer I had to stay, the longer my people at home would have to go without food. I am very grateful to Mr Ayo for his help” said Alice. 

Our paralegals in Freetown, Kenema and Makeni continue to provide vital legal aid at police stations and correctional centres. As Alice’s story shows, this is particularly essential during periods of total lockdown. 

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