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African Women’s Research Initiative for Social Empowerment (African Women’s RISE), a U.S.-registered nonprofit, has expressed deep disappointment in the November 10, 2025 press statement issued by Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone, concerning the serious allegations raised by FBC student, Ms. Edwina Hawa Jamiru against Justice Momoh Jah Stevens, an Associate Lecturer at FBC and Sierra Leone’s Appeals Court Judge.
In a statement released on November 11, 2025, African Women’s RISE called out FBC’s “zero-tolerance policy” claim, stating that the university’s tone suggests a bias toward institutional self-protection rather than toward protecting victims.
The organization said the university’s press release prioritizes “image control, seeking to silence Ms. Jamiru rather than safeguarding her rights and well-being.”
African Women’s RISE found it “particularly troubling” that FBC urged students to report misconduct “through proper channels” while ignoring the organization’s recent formal letter to the Chancellor, submitted on Ms. Jamiru’s behalf, outlining the retaliation and academic exclusion she continues to face. The organization said this contradiction “exposes the hypocrisy of the University’s response, which should not be tolerated.”
Addressing FBC’s advice to Ms. Jamiru to “refrain from public castigation,” African Women’s RISE said this “is not a sign of professionalism; it is an attempt to intimidate her.” The organization stated that “Proper accountability demands transparency, empathy, and justice, not bureaucratic silencing of victims.”
In its statement, African Women’s RISE called on the University of Sierra Leone’s FBC to retract its “intimidating language” toward Ms. Jamiru, reinstate her access to academic forums, ensure an independent and transparent investigation into Justice Stevens’ conduct, and respond in writing to the organization’s earlier letter confirming steps taken to protect Ms. Jamiru’s welfare.
The organization concluded by stating that “Silencing survivors is itself an act of violence. Justice for Edwina Jamiru is justice for every young woman striving for education, dignity, and equality in Sierra Leone,” and called for stopping “sexual predators from weaponizing our educational system in Sierra Leone.”
Thanks African Women’s RISE for such response to the university. Am afraid fbc acting this way, like non of the administrator has a daughter or sister.
While I doff my hats to you for intervening in this matter in defence of that poor distressed lady, I’ll appeal to you further, to kindly present a more robust physical presence that can mitigate continued actions by certain interest groups that are bent on completely destroying that lady’s future ambitions; through some nefarious utterances featured in certain social media channels. These are all frantically done to protect the villain, while criminalizing & tearing apart the victim. Ones again, I implore you to do more than those verbal correspondences, to save a bright future awaiting that promising lady.