Access to Justice for 500 Women in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone the presumption of innocence is a constitutional right- yet for many vulnerable women, this principle often exists only on paper.  Without legal representation, countless women face over-detention, unfair sentencing and violations of their basic human rights.

Mariama Tarawallie ** is a 36 years old mother of two and a business woman. She operates a modest kiosk selling female wares often supplied by colleagues on credit. 

On one occasion, her business partner supplied her with female clothing costing Fifty-Five Thousand Leones (Nle55,000). She in turn supplied her other customers with some quantity of the said clothing to do retail sales. 

Few months later, she paid the deposit of Twenty-eight thousand Leones (Nle28,000) to her supplier and promised to pay the balance amount of Twenty-seven thousand Leones (Nle27,000) after her customers she had supplied would have paid her.

When failed to to pay the outstanding balance as promised, the supplier reported her Mariama for fraudulent conversion.  She was arrested, detained and brought before the court at Ross Road Magistrate court, despite the fact that she had pleaded with the complainant to accord her time to collect monies from those she had supplied, as well as to retrieve the unsold wares.

When AdvocAid Paralegal assigned to Western-Rural location met Mariama in court, she was visibly distressed and financially unable to hire a lawyer. She had already made two appearances in court without legal representation and only the complainant testifying, but was denied bail.  She spent two weeks on remand at the Freetown female correctional centre though her charge was bailable and she was suffering from stress and trauma.

Recognising her vulnerability, AdvocAid’s Duty Counsel who was present in court during one of her appearances was informed about her case and the duty counsel immediately took up her case, requested for her bail and the application was granted by the magistrate which gave Mariama the opportunity to be reunited with her family and to reach out to those she had supplied with the wares for payment.

Through AdvocAid’s intervention, the complainant agreed to a settlement proposal, a payment plan was drawn to which Mariama signed an undertaking to pay the sum of Three thousand leones (Nle3,000) monthly spread over the period until the outstanding amount of Nle27,000 is paid. 

But for this timely intervention by AdvocAid, Mariama would have remained behind bars for months. This is a critical intervention that AdvocAid has continued to provide for women like Mariama whose offense is not criminal but subjects her to experiencing incarceration, an unfair justice that criminalizes debt related cases which otherwise only requires alternative dispute resolution that can lead to a win-win situation. Her continuous stay behind bars could have damaged her mental health, livelihood, dignity and the welfare of her family.

AdvocAid is committed to ensuring that marginalized women like Mariama are not lost in the cracks of the justice system.  Through legal representation, Advocacy for legal reform and awareness of legal rights, we challenge unfair detentions and work towards a more just Sierra Leone.

Mariama’s story is not unique- but with continued support, we can make sure it becomes less common.

Mariama*** Not her real name