Monrovia – Sexual and Gender Based Violence investigators say they had to flee Konobo, Grand Gedeh County after they were informed by county authorities that they needed the blessings of traditional leaders before continuing with the alleged rape investigation in the County.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson Mbayo, [email protected]
According to the Director of Sexual Gender Based Violence crimes unit Cllr. John Gabriel, they had gone to Konobo to ascertain the true location of the victim and her state of being.
He told journalists in Monrovia that it has been difficult gathering information in the case as many residents in the county remain tight-lipped.
“He told me that anyone who goes Konobo without his blessing will be at their own risk,” he stated.
Cllr. Gabriel revealed that the state has seen a crime against the 13 year-old victim and is expected to bring the suspect to justice.
“Though we have not receive complaint from the family on the whereabouts of the 13 year old victim that was abused by senior government official, the state has not receive any formal complaint, and we see there are forces responsible and we are fighting those forces,”
Recently the Ministry of Gender inter-office memo which is captioned: “Update on an alleged rape case involving District #2 Representative Morias Waylee of Grand Gedeh”, upon the FrontPageAfrica’s report, the Gender Based Violence Division of the Ministry contacted the Gender County Officer in Grand Gedeh County where the girl is currently being kept to follow up on the allegation.
The Ministry noted that the National Gender Based Violence task force was also involved in gathering information on the allegation but found it a very daunting challenge.
Other service providers and voluntary informers were involved with the investigation discovered that the alleged rape occurred in Monrovia where the victim was residing with Rep. Waylee in Kings Farm Community on the Monrovia-Kakata Highway.
This account corroborates earlier reports made by FrontPageAfrica.
The Gender Ministry’s investigation discovered that the girl was brought from Grand Gedeh by her uncle to live with Rep. Waylee due to the mental disorder of her biological father. Her mother is also said to be less privilege and could not adequately cater to her needs.
The Ministry said some informants told them that Waylee allegedly abused the little girl which led her to getting pregnant by him.
“Hon. Waylee abused the little [name withheld] which led to her being impregnated by Hon. Waylee.”
“In Mid-February she was taken to Grand Gedeh by the uncle, where she gave birth at the Konobo Health Center in Konobo District Grand Gedeh,” the report stated.
The County Coordinator of Grand Gedeh also confirmed that the survivor was taken to her home village which is seven hours away from Zwedru.
“Our staff made two visitations to gather information on the survivor through the community, but everyone remained tight-lipped on the issue.
“We were able to talk to the town chief and other elders who said they knew nothing about the situation,” the report added.
The Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection revealed that they have been in discussions with Assistant Joseph Janga of the Ministry of Internal Affairs since the case is “heavily traditional”.
In another development, Cllr. Gabriel disclosed that SGBV is ready to press criminal charges against the Mohammed Sambolah, man who leaked a sex video to the public via the Unity Party chartroom.
He said the video leakage violates Section 18.17 of the Criminal Procedure Law.
“We are going to ensure that the perpetrator is arrested and investigated by state security, and will work along with the victim, while carrying out the investigation,” he added.
Gabriel said since that the video is a criminal offense, the state has to intervene so that justice can take its course in the matter.
“The unseen material is a criminal offense and we believe a crime has been committed, because this nude video have been leaked to our underage children, which has created serious attention for which the ministry is prepared to bring the perpetrator to justice,” he said.
Cllr. Gabriel then called on the victim to join the unit and the regulatory authorities in proceeding with the investigation.
According to Cllr. Gabriel, though no complaint has been filed by the victim, the leak is a crime against the state.