By Foday Moriba Conteh
The Human Rights Commission, during a Press conference held on the 28th July, 2021 at the Commission’s Conference Hall on Tower Hill in Freetown, welcomed the commitment of President Julius Maada Bio and the unanimous voting in the Parliament of Sierra Leone on the abolition of the death penalty maintaining that once enacted into law by the President, Sierra Leone will join 119 countries in the world that have abolished the death penalty and including 21 countries in Africa.
In his statement, the Vice Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, Victor I. Lansana said that the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) was established by an Act of Parliament with the mandate to promote and protect human rights in the country, adding that every Sierra Leonean is entitled to Human Rights.
He said since the establishment of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone the entity has been advocating for the abolition of the death penalty in the country’s law books.
Victor I. Lansana maintained that many people have been misunderstanding the meaning of the death penalty of which he used the opportunity to educate the populace saying it means somebody who has gone through all the legal processes in court and has been found guilty of either for murder, robbery with aggravation, mutiny treason etc. maintaining that once found guilty the person is entitled to a death penalty.
The Vice Chairman said that the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861, the Larceny Act, 1916 that deals with robbery with aggravation, the Sierra Leone Military Forces Act, 1961 that deals with mutiny, the Treason and State Offences Act 1963 that deals with treason and related offences if any is committed by a person and found guilty he or she is culpable to the death penalty.
He said if instituted then the State is guilty of “Murder” because if the State could kill its own it is called legal or lawful murder and that over the years the death penalty has been applied in political cases.
He said that as a Commission they are aware about the political landscape in the country and they have been advocating for the abolition of the death penalty in the country’s law books.
Victor I. Lansana reiterated that the Commission since its inception has been calling on successive Governments for the abolition of the death penalty and that they have not only been engaging Governments but also partners for them to see reason for that to be done.
He noted that the abolition of the death penalty is not an invitation to lawlessness and therefore called on all to refrain from taking the lives of other citizens. He urged all to be law abiding and respect public servants or law officers.
Victor I. Lansana said that inasmuch as the Commission welcomes the abolition of the death penalty it has some observations and recommendations to make to the Anthony General and Minister of Justice, adding that Section 63 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone makes provision for a Presidential Pardon through which the President could pardon any one for any of the aforementioned offences be it murder, robbery with aggravation, mutiny or treason furthering that it is in that regard that the Commission is recommending that Section 63 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991 be amended to give effect to the provision contained in the Abolition the Death Penalty Act of 2021 so that it will exclude all of those offences like murder, robbery with aggravation, mutiny or treason from presidential pardon.
The Vice Chairman said that they also noted that Section 59, Sub Section 6 of the Correctional Services Act of 2014 makes provision for remission which is a way of abetting a jail term whereby if prison authorities find out that a prisoner has been behaving responsibly while serving his jail term the prison authorities by that provision will abet his or her imprisonment, adding that Sub- Section 6 of the Correctional Services Act of 2014 makes it clear that life imprisonment means 21 years and that when the death penalty was abolished and replaced a minimum of 30 years was stated for someone convicted for any of the aforementioned offences saying it is but very clear that there a conflict in law of which he said that as a Commission they are recommending that the Anthony General and Minister of Justice should address such a lacuna.
