Monrovia – It has been four weeks since FrontPageAfrica’s publication of lawmaker Morais Waylee allegedly impregnating a 13-year-old girl and bribing her family to keep it under cover, yet the government is yet to launch an investigation into the matter, despite several calls.
Report by Lennart Dodoo – [email protected]
The lawmaker has denied knowing the girl or being sexually involved with her, but family sources insisted that Representative Waylee has accepted responsibility for the child which she bore through C-section.
It is not yet clear why the Government is yet to initiate an investigation into the allegation involving the lawmaker, though rape is considered a first-degree felony which can garner a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is also yet to commit to following up on the allegation.
According to the Ministry, FrontPageAfrica has not given them any evidence to prove the allegation neither has there been any complainant in the case.
But young child rights advocates – Satta Sherrif of the Liberia Children Forum and Abraham Keita, a 2015 Children Peace Prize winner – believe that this allegation should not be left unprobed.
In an exclusive interview with FrontPageAfrica, Ms. Sheriff said she was disappointed in the manner in which the government was handling the case.
“I have decided to dedicate my life, time and effort to this case because if we should eradicate or reduce rape, it must start with us standing against these little things that happen now. I am also a female, I won’t stand it if someone raped me,” she said.
According to Sheriff, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection does not have to wait for a formal complaint before investigating the report. “It seems the ministry is not reading the instruments that prohibit rape, if they are reading these laws, by now, the government would have started investigating this case,” she said.
Sheriff noted that she is disappointed in the manner in which the case is going, but remains hopeful that there is a future for the case.
Speaking on a Writ of Arrest sought by Representative Waylee against Keita for calling for his investigation through a protest staged at the Capitol, Sheriff said: “The Representative action to me is unacceptable and has the propensity to hinder our freedom of speech.”
“ This is a clear way of intimidating Child Rights Advocates, but we will not stop talking because our fight is a good fight in support of peace and justice. I rather go to jail for the truth than sit down and do nothing for justice to prevail.
Why didn’t the Representative Morais Waylee sue Front page Africa or the reporter for reporting the story?
We are only advocating for thorough investigations and subsequent arrest.”
She insisted that the Liberia Children Forum would not rest until the alleged rape case is given attention by the government and the international community.
“Advocacy is a process and it’s about consistency. No matter how many years it takes, justice will one day smile at us,” she said.
She called on the government to “give investigation a chance”.
“Go back to the panel code and the rape law of Liberia. We urge you to go beyond talking; we are pleading with you to take actions.”
“ The international community is watching Liberia, let’s give rape a zero tolerance. Rape is a crime, think about the well-being of the victim, the family’s financial situation and the alleged perpetrator involvement with the family.
“This is an SOS call to the Ministry of Gender ‘please give investigations a chance and invite FrontPageAfrica to defend what they have reported,” she said.
For his part, Keita who now has a Writ of Arrest hanging over him described the Writ as an instrument to silence him.
“I still find it difficult to understand why the lawsuit says criminal coercion. However, I think there is something bigger behind it, which I do not know.”
“But to me, the lawmaker only wants to keep me off balance in this case. He assumes that by filing a lawsuit, my colleagues and I will become silent.”
“No, we will never. In fact, more people are aware than ever before. If he likes, he can file as many as one thousand lawsuits, that won’t still stop our advocacy for an investigation into this matter,” Keita averred.
According to Keita, he was in United States of America speaking at Havard University 8th Cambridge when a student who had googled Liberia brought the story to his attention.
According to him, he immediately broke down with tears-filled eyes because of the image of his country and it was an alleged violation of a child’s right.
“Days before coming, I called a number of advocates and colleagues to share with them the idea that upon my return, I want to organize and lead a peaceful protest on the grounds of the Legislature.”
“ Sadly, they all seemed afraid citing political influences.”
“Howbeit, I am not someone who cares about the politics, rather the human rights aspect.
“As I entered Liberia, I started mobilizing young colleagues to join the protest on May 23. Many promised to come, but didn’t – I understand they were afraid.”
“For the first time, I led a protest with no more than 15 young people.”
“The good thing is, those young people are committed and passionate, dedicated and willing to do everything lawful to ensure that hidden voices are brought to heard platform.”
“We assembled at the Capitol Building to do that which our conscience demands of us – seek justice for an alleged rape victim, first by requesting an investigation.
“I am a young man, but I abhor violence against women and children. I am sick and tired of watching or hearing about women and girls being raped by wicked individuals. I am of the conviction that genuine sustainable peace and development cannot be realized when injustices continue to parade the corridors of our society.
I am passionate about speaking out and full with consciousness in what I do, that is why I refuse to be conquered by fear and consumed by jitter.”
According to Keita, he has a duty to speak out and stand up against evil. He disclosed that there are now many people getting involved since the protest on May 23.
“Hundreds of lawsuits won’t deter me. I long passed the valley of fear and threats,” he boasted.
He believes the police and gender ministry’s continuous silence on the case proves that things are “threading the path of selective justice”, noting that over the past years, when someone is accused, both institutions get involved and the alleged perpetrator is arrested and placed behind bars awaiting trial, could not understand why it was different in this case.
He further disclosed that he had been in touch with the gender ministry pushing for an investigation; however, he was informed by the ministry that they could not investigate a case that had no complainant.
“They failed to realize that rape is a state crime, once it is rumored, the state (government) must intervene. It becomes the alleged perpetrator against the state. In such a case, one needs to Complainant since it was reported by a reliable source – Frontpage Africa,” he said.
“It was done with the student leader, Hans Williams and many other cases. Why not this one? Is it that Morais Waylee is an untouchable and above the laws of our nation? I refuse so,” he added
Keita expressed frustration that his “country continued to fail its children”.
He said government’s refusal to conduct an investigation into the report would trigger series of protest until the investigation is credibly done.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights has expressed concern over allegation.
According to the INCHR its concern comes in the wake of mounting calls for Representative Waylee’s prosecution amidst inadequate evidence and his move to file a lawsuit against his accusers.
“The INCHR says while it is currently gathering facts relating to this human rights issue, it wants the Liberia National Police to launch an investigation into the situation leaving no stone unturned. The INCHR’s call for investigation comes in the wake of protest staged on the grounds of the Capitol by international award winning child right advocate Abraham Keita calling for the Legislature to probe their colleague and a subsequent lawsuit filed by Hon. Waylee against Mr. Keita for defamation of character,” a release issued by the Commission noted.
According to the Commission, it wants the police investigation to establish the facts surrounding the matter which bothers on abuse of a child rights.
The dispatch further noted that the investigation should be conducted as quickly as possible as it is speculated that the child has disappeared to an unknown location thus raising fear for her life and the welfare of the new born baby.