30 March 2016: AdvocAid are today calling for reform to Sierra Leone’s Larceny Act – an act that leads to many Sierra Leonean women being illegally imprisoned for debt. Women owing as little as Le 250,000 (around $60) have been imprisoned for up to three years.
This call comes one week after AdvocAid and the British Council Sierra Leone held a policy debate on the topic, titled Decongesting Correctional Centres: lifting the criminalising of owing a debt under the Larceny Act 1916, as part of their co-delivered EU funded Justice Matters Programme. Over the two-year programme, it has become increasingly evident that women in Sierra Leone still suffer disproportionately from the lack of actions taken to decriminalise debt.
AdvocAid – a Civil Society Organisation providing free legal aid to women in Sierra Leone – highlight that ‘fraudulent conversion’ is an offence contained in section 20(1)(iv)(b) of the Larceny Act 1916. It is, intended to criminalise the use of property for purposes other than that for which it was given and/or intended.
It is AdvocAid’s experience that interpretations of fraudulent conversion in Sierra Leone have now evolved far beyond this original definition, distinctly disadvantaging women. Charges are increasingly applied to situations where a debtor is unable to repay a sum of money they had initially agreed to pay the complainant.
It is not the first time that AdvocAid have raised this issue, releasing the ‘Women, Debt and Detention’ report in 2012. One of AdvocAid’s clients is Saptieu (28), a trader. She owed her supplier Le 2,400,000 ($600) for goods taken on credit. As she was unable to pay the full amount on time, her supplier reported Saptieu to the police. She was charged with fraudulent conversion and AdvocAid represented her in court, where she was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment or a fine of Le 500,000 ($125) despite being 7 months pregnant at the time. Her husband managed to raise the money and a week later, she was released.
Simitie Lavaly, AdvocAid’s Executive Director states that “AdvocAid continues to campaign for the de-criminalisation of debt due to the severe consequences it has for accused women, who are mostly petty traders providing a critical source of income for their families. These women engage daily in formal and informal borrowing, and this – coupled with lack of understanding of their legal rights – makes them extremely vulnerable to charges of fraudulent conversion.”
An estimated 10% of all charges brought to the Sierra Leone Police revolve around issues of debt. Over half of the Fraudulent Conversion cases AdvocAid was involved in from 2014-16, ended up in the Magistrate Court.
The practice of criminalising debt is contributing to severe congestion in Sierra Leone’s Correctional Service. Cecilia Kaikai, Director Technical Services of Sierra Leone Correction Service, spoke at last weeks’ policy debate: “Pademba Road prison was built for 324 inmates, but we have to receive the detainees that are sent to us – even if the facility is full – so now we have about 1,600 inmates. That makes it very hard for us to keep inmates, officers and visitors safe, as well as be able to offer the rehabilitatory services our detainees need.” stated Cecilia.
Criminalisation of debt puts unnecessary strains on courts and prisons, which increases the risk of corrupt practices within institutions. Whilst there has been some commitment from the Judiciary and Sierra Leone Police to start treating debt as a civil matter, gaps still remain.
The current practice of criminalising debt compounds and perpetuates poverty and marginalisation of women, who deserve fair and accessible means to resolve contractual disputes. AdvocAid is therefore making the following recommendations:
- Repeal the Larceny Act 1916 and replace it with a modern Offences Against Property Act which would strictly prohibit imprisonment for any default solely related to the inability to fulfil a contractual obligation, in conformity with Article 11 of the ICCPR and the African Commission’s Ouagadougou Declaration
- The police to divert all complaints related to debt for mediation in the community or advise the complainant to file a civil summons in the appropriate court
- The court to determine at the onset whether a fraudulent conversion case is a prima facie debt case and treat it as a civil matter rather than a criminal matter
- Enact the Criminal Procedure Bill 2010 that will provide alternatives to imprisonment in criminal matters
- Implement the Bangkok Rules and enforce non-custodial sentences for pregnant women and women with dependent children
—ENDS—
For further information, case studies, or an interview:
- Simitie Lavaly, AdvocAid Executive Director: simitie.lavaly@advocaidsl.org
- +232 (0)79 193414/ 099 902046
- AdvocAid, 1st Floor, 39 Brook Street, Freetown