By Nasratu Kargbo
Inspector-General of Police William Fayia Sellu has recommended the setting up of a fast-track court in the country to deal with drug-related offences.
He made this call during a Committee Hearing in Parliament on the 18th of March 2024, where most of the stakeholders related to drug issues were summoned in a bid for Members of Parliament to get an understanding of the issue from various perspectives.
The IGP said establishing a special court that deals with drug cases, will allow for cases to be expeditiously dealt with.
Sellu stated that having a fast-track court on drugs like is done with the commercial court will get judges and magistrates that sit on those cases to approach them with utmost seriousness.
He said stiffer penalties including huge fines and a non-selective approach in the dispensation of justice will go a long way in ensuring drug abuse is eradicated in the country.
Speaking on lapses he has observed from the judiciary, the IGP said there is selective dispensation of justice in court, recalling how he had an argument with a Magistrate who wanted to grant bail to a man known as Bigitel, whom he described as the most notorious drug dealer in the Easter part of Freetown.
He explained that the dealer is presently behind bars but had been granted bail by the magistrate on two occasions, adding that he had insisted that if he was given bail again he would arrest him and keep him at the station from where he will leaving to attend court.
Sellu said they take drug dealers to court, only for them to be seen out on the street again and back to business.
He explained that under that law a person held for possession of drugs should not be granted bail in the lower court and that even in the high court the individual should not pay a fine but be given a custodian sentence. “They are by-passing the system making the system look very funny as far as I am concerned. The laws are clear, you have the lows and the highs, go for the high, the more you go for the high, and the better it is for all of us” the IGP said.
The Police Boss mentioned the Drug Control Act of 2008 which has tougher penalties such as seizure of properties bought from proceeds of the sales of drugs, but said the court does not use the law, resorting to minimal fines instead.
He said he had raised concerns regarding the minimal fines levied such that if one is arrested for unlawful possession of drugs like a pan of marshmallows, they are fined one or two thousand Leones, which they will be happy to pay because it will not affect them.
Representing Pujehun District, the Chief Whip from the Government Dickson Rogers supported the IGP regarding the judiciary’s attitude towards kush in particular. “I agree with you and I will push forward for a fast-track court, if we could have a fast-track court for business I don’t see why we cannot have one for drugs that is killing the nation,” the Whip said.
He said the fast-track court will be effective as long as the police officers charge the matter to court.
Rogers heaped praises on the IGP but called on him to discipline his officers. He said after confiscating the drugs some officers handed them over to their wives to sell, and even accused some police officers in his district Pujehun of not being disciplined.
He called on his colleagues and other politicians to stop interfering with the process by making calls for the release of persons found wanting. Rogers asked that they sensitize their people to the effects of the drug menace, and set up a team in each village that will be charged with the responsibility of implementing arrests, stressing that such measures will help curb the scourge.
Deputy Leader of Government Business 2 Emerson S. Lamina said the idea of having a special court to address drug cases is a brilliant one. He said they are worried and want to make laws for the country, which is why they invited the authorities to give them an insight on the matter. He however expressed disappointment that the authorities could not give out detailed data or names on the Kush matter.
The meeting ended with Deputy Leader of Government Business Bashiru Silikie stating the next meeting will be behind closed doors.
The decision to invite the authorities to parliament was triggered by an MP who recently spoke of seven persons who died as a result of Kush, and a video that went viral where many young men alleged to be kush addicts had their heads forcefully shaved.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (20/03/24)
