Foday Jalloh A 5th year medical student at the college of medicine, Michel Amah Mohamed Kamara has been sentenced to ten year in jail. According to the judge, Justice Komba Kamanda before handling the sentence noted that the accused has a case to answer, upon which there is evidence that lead him to convict the accused. This incident of rape occurred on the 12th march 2016 at 30c Kaningo drive, Lumley. Justice Komba Kamanda highlighted that doing sex without the consent of the opposite sex is an offence, which contravenes the sexual person’s act of 2012. Evidence before the court shows that the accused, Kamara forced the victim to have sexual intercourse. In another development the judge Komba Kamanda sentenced Ibrahim Kargbo who was charged to court on four counts, sexually penetrating four girls to with 10yrs. According to the court, the accused called the four kids to purchase sweet for him, upon their return he closed the door and forcefully penetrates his penis on them one after the other. Court evidence shows that the accused threaten the kids not to explain to their parents, if they do, he will beat them. Further statement in court shows that the accused person normally sends these kids to buy cookery. This incident of sexual penetration occurred in the eastern part of Freetown, as the matter was investigated by pc 9859 Sarah S kombi attached to the kissy police division.

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT BETWEEN LEGAL LINK, CAN AND NACFOHRD CONDEMNING THE UNLAWFUL KILLINGS AND DISPROPORTIONATE USE OF FORCE BY  SECURITY FORCES AGAINST UNARMED PROTESTERS IN MAKENI CITY; CALLING ON PRESIDENT BIO TO ESTABLISH A JUDGE-LED INQUIRY TO INVESTIGATE THE ENTIRE SAGA LEGAL LINK, CAN and NACFOHRD, three leading civil society organizations working for the advancement of the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Sierra Leone are deeply concerned over the disproportionate use of force by the security agencies on protesters at Makeni City in the early hours of 18th July 2020 resulting in many injuries, collateral damage and the death of at least 5 youths of the township. It is no gainsaying to opinionate that such state of affairs will gravely affect the public image of the country not only at the national and regional levels but also at the global level. And as civil society organizations that defend the rights of vulnerable groups in society including marginalised youths, we take the greatest exception to this unprofessional conduct of the Security forces and call for a judge led inquiry to look into the handling of the entire incident at Makeni city, Northern Sierra Leone by the Ministry of Energy, local government and the security forces. It could be recalled that similar protests have also occurred in time past in Kono and Kailahun over the removal of generator plants from their town ship to other regions of the country. But unlike the ugly incident that occurred in Makeni, no fatalities were recorded in the above two  townships transfers. What then went wrong in the handling of the Makeni situation? Surprisingly, despite the increased condemnation and outcry from the public over the video clips showcasing brutal and excessive force by the Security forces, we note with utter consternation, the apparent reticence and the lack thereof by the top Management of the security forces in Sierra Leone to officially condemn this barbaric and unprofessional behavior of subordinates, over their execution of brutal and excessive force to harmless youths in Makeni that were merely agitating for energy security of their township. This outright complicity at the top is not only worrying but reveals without doubt, the degree of impunity and non-accountability that prevails within the law enforcement architecture in Sierra Leone. Such complicity we further maintain, invites a possibility for the applicability of the principle of Command Responsibility on the leadership of the securiy forces to be held vicariously liable for the atrocious acts of subordinate officers against the vulnerable civilian population on that fateful day. It could be recalled that various specialized trainings on the *UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials* have been organized in time past by the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone and the Independent Police Complaints Board to help the Sierra Leone police in particular understand how to manage such riotous situations including their application of the use of force to restore law and order. As had always been emphasized, the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials dictates that, even when provoked, the ‘repelling force to be used must be ‘equal, reasonable, proportionate and necessary in the given circumstances’. Against this backdrop, while we condemn the acts of the few disgruntled protesters who reacted in uncivilized ways, pelting stones at the police and burning tires on the streets, we vehemently and unequivocally condemn the over-reaction of the Security forces in unleashing brutal and excessive force over unarmed protesting civilians. Noticeably also, is the fact that, even when the tensions had de-escalated, the callousness and unprofessionalism of the security forces became much more apparent. Video clips recorded by on lookers at the Makeni township show complicity and a conspicuous pattern of torture and brutal display of force on poor and vulnerable households. We therefore want it to be known by the  leadership of the SLP and the Military that the right to freedom of torture as provided under the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) to which Sierra Leone is a signature is a non-derogable right (Edgar omnes), and a per-emptory norm of Customary International Law. This means that under no circumstances can it be justified to torture any human being in a democratic society needless to talk about youths and children. All the police were mandated and required to do by law on that fateful day at Makeni city was to effect arrest on all alleged rioters, investigate and charge perpetrators to court for public order offences as enshrined under the Public Order Act of 1965. That the security forces decided to embark on a frolic of their own and acted outside the remits of the law by overtly  executing brutal and excessive force on harmless  protesters in such scale and magnitude, amounts to a violation of not only the UN Convention Against Torture, but also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Youth Charter, the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the right to freedom from torture, inhumane and degrading treatment and the right to freedom of Assembly and Association as enshrined under Chapter 3 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.                                        Majority of Sierra Leoneans interviewed by us are particularly worried over this ugly state of affairs which is seemingly becoming the new normal in the country. While it may be true to say that a great deal of effort has been made to tackle corruption in the country under president Bio’s watch, the same cannot be true for police brutality, lawlessness and excessive use of force. As a matter of fact, the spate of unlawful killings and excessive use of force displayed by the security apparatus seem to be increasing at a geometric progression.  Listed below are a few