Post a comment 
A member of Sierra Leone’s main opposition party, the All People’s Congress (APC), has successfully secured the right to remain in the United Kingdom after a tribunal heard he was subjected to sexual slavery by a Nigerian woman following his flight from political violence in Sierra Leone.
The Upper Tribunal in the UK recently rejected an appeal by the British Home Office to deport the migrant, with the presiding judge branding the government’s case a “shambles.”
According to court documents, the asylum seeker entered the UK in February 2020 and filed for asylum in January 2021. His claim was founded on two main arguments: a fear of political persecution in Sierra Leone and his status as a victim of modern slavery and sexual exploitation in the UK.
The claimant testified that he was an active member of the APC, noting that he had “participated in elections, delegated conferences and made financial contributions” to the party. He alleged that during a by-election in Sierra Leone, he was attacked and injured by “thugs” supporting President Julius Maada Bio who suspected the opposition would win the seat. Following the attack, he fled to the Northern Province before obtaining a passport to escape to the UK.
However, his arrival in Britain led to severe exploitation. The tribunal was told that after initially being forced to work unpaid from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. by one host, he became homeless. He was subsequently taken in by a Nigerian woman who allegedly forced him into domestic servitude and sexual acts in exchange for food and shelter.
The court heard that the woman required him to clean her house and have sex with her and her friends “against his will.”
“[He] says this went on for three months until finally in December 2020, the woman told [him] to have sex with her in exchange for food, but when he rejected her, she hit him, threw him out of the house and threw the food in the bin,” the court records state.
The claimant was eventually helped by an acquaintance to file for asylum. A lower tribunal accepted his claim that he had a “well-founded fear of persecution” in Sierra Leone. The UK Home Office appealed this decision to the Upper Tribunal, attempting to overturn the grant of asylum.
Judge David Clarke, ruling on the appeal, upheld the lower court’s decision. He concluded that the Home Office had failed to provide proof that there was no risk of persecution in Sierra Leone or re-trafficking, stating he found “no evidence” to support the Home Office’s arguments.
