Sierra Leone: Opposition leader gets 32 years in jail for rape
Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray, the founder and head of the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP) in Sierra Leone. A court found him guilty of eight counts of rape charges.
A court in Sierra Leone has sentenced an opposition politician to 32 years in jail after he was found guilty of rape.
Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray, according to judiciary sources, will spend about 17 years behind bars after being found guilty on eight counts of charges for sexually penetrating a minor.
The victim, a secondary school student, was 15 at the time of the incident, according to prosecutors.
The verdict on the protracted case was passed on Friday, February 17, by High Court judge Samuel Taylor.
Mansaray, the founder and head of the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP), under whose ticket he contested the presidency in 2018, was first detained in July 2020.
He denied the charges against him.
Mansaray was tried alongside the aunt of the victim, with whom he is believed to have connived to sexually exploit the girl. The co-accused was given 15 years jail term.
The case put on test the independence of Sierra Leone's judiciary, coming as the country waged a war on an epidemic of sexual and gender-based violence. It followed reports of rising cases of sexual abuse, particularly of minors, amid public outcry and street demonstrations.
In 2019, the government of President Julius Maada Bio declared a state of emergency on sexual violence, which led to the amendment of the country's sexual offences laws, making them tougher.
The government also created a special court for sexual offence cases, which was meant to fastback trials.
Thats why the prolonged nature of Mansaray's case raised many questions.
He was a vocal politician and he is very critical of the administration of Bio.
Supporters of the opposition politician, however, believe that the case against him was politically motivated.
Several incidents during the trial also gave way to speculations over the motive behind his case. For instance, even though he was at one point granted bail by the court, he was never allowed to leave prison.
There was widespread public appeal for his release on bail due to his widely publicised ill health.
The jailing of Mansaray means there is one less of a serious contender against President Bio in elections slated for June this year. The president is seeking re-election for his second and final five-year term, as per the country's constirution.
