“We know it’s a violation but we have no choice” LUC Yamba
By Sulaiman Conteh in Kabala
Police in Mongo Bendugu in Koinadugu district says some suspects are held in custody for three months before appearing in court. This is according to the Local Unit Commander of the area, Edward Yamba.
The LUC said, despite falaba district having a sitting Magistrate court, the court only carry proceedings once in every three months. “Suspects on our custody have to wait in detention for around three months before trials. I know it’s a human rights violation but we have no option” he added.
LUC Yamba further told Mountain Waves that, having suspects in custody for that long cost them a lot to feed and provide them with other needs. He said, there are challenges in the area of detention, but added that, the bad road network linking the court team to the district head quarter town of Kabala is another stumbling block.
He however called on the attention of the government to help their division with mobility as the whole division is running without a functional vehicle which restricts their movements.
LUC Yamba also called on the mongo community to work with the police in order to combat crime especially in the border between Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Mongo Bendugu lies in Koinadugu in the North of Sierra Leone over 400 kilometers from Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital. The chiefdom is deprived in several ways thereby causing a headache for local officials to enforce laws in the region.