Awareness Times Newspaper can confirm that up to ten (10) female members of the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) have been languishing inside a Maximum-Security Female Prison in Freetown since last week and are due to appear in Court again tomorrow Tuesday 21st December 2021.
The women were arrested and charged to court for allegedly creating riotous conduct in the city when they went to accompany APC strongwoman Finda Diana Konomanyi to answer an invitation from the Sierra Leone Police about a video Konomanyi allegedly made against the announced 2021 Mid-Term Census.
The women were charged to court for what are all bailable criminal offences. Unfortunately, the women were all denied bail by the Judiciary and remanded at the country’s female prisons.
They are expected to make their second appearance in court tomorrow.
There has been a growing call for women to be allowed to express themselves without being subjected to undue detentions.
Whilst the current Judiciary has made commendable strides in advancing the interests of women ever since the new Chief Justice Hon. Dr. Desmond Babatunde Edwards was sworn in some three years ago, it is also not constable that women have suffered needless denial of Bail by the Judiciary under Edward’s watch.
According to Awareness Times, there are many bail policies that have been published which all frown at needless denial of Bail to accused persons. Sadly, these bail policies do not always get followed.
The ten women from the APC are amongst the latest set of victims of being denied bail for what are bailable offences.