Monrovia – An angry mob is threatening to kill a boy in Logan Town. A crowd is growing, beating him with fists and rocks as he tries to escape. The young teenager is fighting to run away but the crowd is growing in strength and violence. The boy looks up and sees the Citizen Bureau ahead, manages to break free from the mob, and runs inside the office with the crowd racing close behind him.
Report by Rachel Sovka, Contributing Writer
This is not an unusual scene in Logan Town, or Monrovia at large; someone is accused of a crime and has only a matter of minutes to get to the Citizen’s Bureau for safety and the opportunity to be heard.
John Kamma, director of the Citizen’s Bureau for Development and Productivity, says the real crime is how frequently cases like this occur.
“I’ve seen people beaten to death,” he says, “I’ve seen people flogged in their communities for crimes they have not been convicted of.”
That’s why Kamma, who has a background in law enforcement, started the CBDP; to bring justice to communities who can’t afford the formal justice system, so that boys like this one get a chance to defend themselves.
“In this case, the teenager had stolen some clothes off a clothesline and was caught,” Kamma explains, “No one deserves to die for this, everyone should have a fair trial.”
But because the national law courts are often financially inaccessible for most people living in densely-populated marginalized areas, or slums communities, the CBDP provides mediation and resolution for local disputes. Free of charge, the CBDP keeps a diverse range of cases out of the formal justice system, from property and domestic disputes to theft and witchcraft.
The grass roots initiative began in 2013, by Liberians for Liberians, and continues to report a very low rate of recidivism today.
“People respect the CBDP and know they can have a fair hearing there,” Kamma says.
But not because the CBDP is soft. Both sides of each issue are carefully examined before judgement is given, and both litigants are held to account, regardless of financial status or class.
Thomas Tweh, CBDP team leader in West Point, considers this the most important part.
“Sometimes you see certain people and think they won’t listen to our local mediators because of their status or education, but not so; they quickly give listening ears to the mediators and address their differences when we reason together for an amicable end to the conflict,” he says.
Tweh says the reason for low recidivism is the CBDP’s dedication to follow-up.
“Most of the time when these cases are resolved there is no recidivism because we can easily engage the party by following up some months later since we live with them in the same community.”
“Taking ownership of the community is the pride of CBDP; what’s important in this job is trust and credibility, and because we are trusted and respected the people listen when we intervene,” says Tweh.
Tweh and Kamma believe that having both sides of a conflict come to an agreement together through mediation is always preferable to sentencing without engagement.
“The goal of the criminal justice system is to correct offenders not just punish them,” says Kamma, “that’s why the CBDP wants to sentence offenders to visible hard labour like farming, so the community can see, and so the offender can gain skills to avoid committing crimes of desperation in the future.”
Reducing the number of inmates languishing behind bars is just one of Mr. Kamma’s motivations for the CBDP, the rest is about human rights violations. Whether for lack of time or money, or the ubiquitous presence of corruption, the formal justice system is not trusted or available for many Liberians, and are often subjected to violent mob justice instead.
To avoid this fate, Mr Kamma is asking Liberia’s new government administration to recognize his work and recommend that the Liberian National Police refer certain misdemeanors to the nearest CBDP mediation centre in West Point or Logan Town to reduce the burden on the courts.
“Otherwise people will die or be raped in jail for crimes they were not found guilty of,” Kamma says.
In a post-ebola Liberia, where establishing sustainable public systems is a crucial element to counter international aid-dependency, many believe that homegrown and self-sufficient initiatives like this facilitate a paradigm shift for progress.
“In order to reach even more communities, we want to expand,” Mr Kamma says, “so if you see a conflict arise in a community that cannot afford the courts, recommend your local CBDP office to resolve it and we can help.”
Like the teenaged boy who narrowly escaped with his life in Logan Town, and like the crowd that pursued him, seeking both refuge and justice with the CBDP is available for everyone.
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Rachel Sovka is a freelance journalist who believes in love and resilience. Across 25 countries she has worked in international development, women’s empowerment, and consumed unhealthy amounts of hot sauce, in that order.
Rachel has been living in, and inspired by, Liberia since 2017.