Liberian prosecutors have lost another human trafficking case, four months after being downgraded to tier 2 watchlist in the 2024 annual U.S. government’s Trafficking in Persons report.
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives
Jurors acquitted Yacouba Sawadogo, 36, an Ivorian man, who state prosecutors had accused of trafficking 11 Sierra Leoneans to Liberia between 2022 and 2023, under the pretense that they would travel to Canada. Prosecutors had questioned five witnesses during the trial. The witnesses claimed to have been recruited to Liberia and deceived about the travel by Sawadogo and his alleged accomplices and said they had paid between $US1000-$US3000 for the trip.
After 45 minutes of deliberations, 11 of the 12 jurors who sat on the trial at Criminal court “A” in Monrovia, said they were unconvinced by state prosecutors’ argument that Sawadogo conspired with co-defendants, Sierra Leonean nationals Foday Kabia and Ibrahim Sorie Bangura – to commit the crime.
“I don’t know anything about the issue,” said Sawadogo, who spent one year two months in prison. “I am very happy this afternoon. In life, nothing is greater than freedom, because there is so many sufferings in prison.”
State prosecutors said they were disappointed about Monday’s verdict, blaming it on their strategy.
“It’s just not pleasing to us prosecutors,” said Randolph Johnson, a state prosecutor in the case, in an interview. “Going forward, we will have to re-strategize as to how we proceed with the handling of TIP cases.”
Attorney Johnson said he also didn’t think the jurors properly understood what the crime of human trafficking was.
“TIP cases are almost like a special proceeding,” said Johnson. “Many of the jurors are not familiar with TIP cases. You will do your best to explain to them what constitutes TIP cases such as the means and the purpose. We were simple in our presentation, yet they had a different perspective of it. It is frustrating. The strength of our evidence was overwhelming and convincing. We paraded our witnesses and their testimonies were corroborative.”
This is the third case that the Liberian government has lost in more than a year. But it’s the first they’ve prosecuted and lost since the 2024 U.S. human trafficking report was released.
Unlike many others that had jurors sitting in court and then rendering verdicts based on witness testimonies, this case saw jurors visit the alleged crime scenes, where the witnesses alleged they were kidnapped and confined in bondage without food and water. They also visited an alleged office of Q-NET, a Hong Kong based global e-commerce company, where prosecutors said Sawadogo and his accomplices operated from.
In his testimony, Sawadogo said he did work for Q-NET, which the Liberian National Police has accused of trafficking people. In 2022, a local court dismissed a human trafficking case against the company saying there was no evidence the defendants were working for the company. QNET has repeatedly denied any involvement in human trafficking and says anyone who uses their name for trafficking is acting as an impostor.
Another notable twist in this case that analysts said could have impacted the jurors’ judgment was the Supreme Court’s intervention at the request of the defense. State prosecutors had claimed that two potential defense witnesses were Sawadogo’s accomplices that they had sought after. They threatened to arrest and prosecute them, an issue defense lawyers said was intimidation. When the matter went before him, Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, the chamber justice, ruled against the state and ordered criminal court “A” to allow the witnesses to testify.
The defense only however put one of the witnesses on the stand. The witness denied the allegations against Sawadogo. Defence lawyers told the court and jury that two other witnesses could not testify because of what they claimed was the fear that state prosecutors had instilled in the witnesses. As well as saying the state had wrongly prosecuted their client, defense lawyers anchored their closing argument on the intimidation issue. In their argument, state prosecutors had called Sawadogo a liar, particularly highlighting his refusal to admit that he could speak English. It was because of his comments to the court that the court ordered the state to ensure the participations of two sets of translators in the trial, a French and a Krio language translator. Krio is a widely spoken language in Sierra Leone. Asked about the issue after the verdict, Mr. Sawadogo admitted he could speak English, though not fluently.
“The English that I speak is not correct,” Sawadogo to FPA/NN. “It was why I told the court that if I want to explain myself maybe some people will understand, some people will not understand me. I told the court I need interpreter in French.”
Aside from being the first foreign national to be prosecuted with Liberia’s revised anti-human trafficking law, Sawadogo was also the first person Liberia had prosecuted in recent years with no connection to Oman, where more than 300 Liberian women were lured under deception that they would get high-paying jobs. The women were subsequently locked into contracts as housemaids working as long as 20 hours a day for little pay in dehumanizing and degrading conditions. Many reported sexual and physical abuse.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the “Investigating Liberia” project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content.
Support Independent Journalism
Your support helps FrontPage Africa continue delivering independent, credible, and impactful journalism. Every contribution strengthens our ability to investigate, inform, and hold power accountable while keeping quality journalism accessible to our readers.
Support our journalism or subscribe to receive the latest FrontPage Africa stories and updates.
