The Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh has revealed in his 15th audio of July 5th 2024 that he played a crucial role in facilitating the enactment of the Criminal Procedure Act of 2024.
According to the Chief Minister, successive governments have been working on the review of the law for 20 years which was initially enacted in 1964, but went on to express delight in President Julius Maada Bio for providing the political will that witnessed the successful enactment of the Criminal Procedure Act of 2024.
At the outset when he was appointed Chief Minister, he discloses how he rallied stakeholders in the judiciary and Justice sector to inform them about President Bio’s desire to review and replace the hitherto moribund Criminal Procedure act of 1964.
In that light, Dr. David Sengeh indicated that poverty has been decriminalized with the enactment of the new law because before now, suspects were easily incarcerated for failing to fulfill rigid bail conditions.
Following the enactment of the Criminal Procedure Act of 2024, the Chief Minister noted that the new law is flexible enough to provide alternatives such as community service and probation to some criminal offenders.
“This is the most just and transformative law in the sub-region and we thank all the parliamentarians, Chief Justice, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, and the Law Officers Department for the role they played in the Enactment of the Criminal Procedure Act 2024,” he stated.
He expressed satisfaction in coordinating the Justice stakeholders behind the scenes to fulfilling president Bio’s wish to finally enshrine the Criminal Procedure Act 2024 in the statute books of Sierra Leone, especially so, when the feat was achieved in less than a year of coordination as the Chief Minister.
“Irrespective of your location in Sierra Leone, President Bio’s wish is to see the manifestation of Justice for all and sundry,” he points out.
On the other hand, the Chief Minister expressed contentment in witnessing the launching of the inception report for the status of Youths alongside the Ministry of youths.
Dr. David Sengeh noted that, it is the first report in the world that probes the understanding of the youths and looks at various ways at how youths deal with technology, employment and many other issues.
According to the Chief Minister, people were grown accustomed to referencing unfounded statistics about youth employment, but in order to present a credible picture of the status of the youths, President Bio hired an international consultant to do the job.
He said the collaborative efforts of different state institutions and the implementation of the right government policies, a lot of youths who were addicted to drugs have been rehabilitated and re-integrated in to society to become better citizens and contribute to national development.
Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh underscored the fact that a lot of youths have benefitted immensely from the human capital development of President Julius Maada Bio, which was launched specifically to target and transform the lives of the youths in Sierra Leone.
Credit: Uncle Sankara Media Platform
Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Monday, July 8th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)