Alimamy Koroma used to be one of AdvocAid’s star legal interns. Passing his Bar exams in April, he is now a fully fledged lawyer and we are lucky that he is still representing AdvocAid clients. This month, as part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations, Alimamy has written a blog about his passion for human rights and his professional development since he joined AdvocAid in 2012.
How AdvocAid continues to inspire me
Legal education in Sierra Leone is fraught with many challenges. There is a severe lack of good textbooks, and teaching methods favour theory over practice. When I gained admission to study law in 2011, I was therefore concerned about this situation and yearned for the opportunity to gain practical legal experience. The main reason why I had been attracted to study law in the first place was not because of the fancy Latin maxims. My passion was to learn how to use laws to transform lives and create positive changes in our society.
So when AdvocAid advertised a year-long internship in 2012, I was super excited. The recruitment process itself was intense and I was the only second year student to be shortlisted for interview. Only four vacancies existed but a large number of students had applied. Luckily, I managed to impress the interview panel and I got the role – despite being in competition with some of my senior colleagues.
During my internship, I monitored police stations and prisons, provided basic legal advice, did legal research and interviews with clients, and helped out with trainings. Although the work was demanding I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the police monitoring. I think it was partly because of the shocking conditions in police cells and how vulnerable women were languishing in custody. Sierra Leone’s police are notorious for abusing human rights. They would often demand money for bail despite the laws prohibiting the same. Over-detention was rampant and so was overcrowding. In some instances, children are locked up with adults without any provisions for sanitation. Hunger was rife and I would often have to buy food for detainees before they would have energy to speak to me. But I found that my intervention often meant that a mother would be granted bail and return to her children instead of languishing in detention while her case was pending.
In late 2012, I worked on a case that involved disturbing police brutality, which later inspired my Bachelor’s dissertation. Twenty-four citizens were arrested in broad day light by their homes on allegations of loitering after the police carried out a morning raid in their community. Most of them were beaten, their properties looted and they were “advised” by the police to plead guilty. Eleven of them were women; one of them pregnant. Unrepresented at first, they were sentenced to six months imprisonment despite the maximum penalty for loitering being 1 month. So when AdvocAid heard of them whilst doing routine prison monitoring, we intervened and sought judicial review of the illegal sentence. After much delay, their sentence was overturned, but at that time they had had spent nearly three months in prison. We filed an official complaint to the Complaint Division and Internal Investigation Department (CDIID), the disciplinary arm of the Sierra Leone Police, to seek apology and compensation for our clients. But it turned out a painful reminder of the impunity enjoyed by police officers – despite our efforts, nothing came out of the complaint.
Throughout my internship, the staff at AdvocAid were always at hand to provide support and counsel, and at the end, I was humbled to be selected as best intern. Part of the reward was another internship with Timap For Justice, a sister organization in Kenema, Eastern Province. At Timap for Justice, I saw firsthand the challenges facing the judiciary in the provinces. Whereas in Freetown, the wheels of justice were agonizingly slow, in the provinces, there were no wheels at all. Justice was limping on clutches.
On my return to Freetown, I volunteered my services to AdvocAid for free. I was inspired by their incredible work and I wanted to make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable women. I graduated my Bachelor of Laws in 2014 with First Class Honours, but when I entered Law School in 2015 to pursue the bar, I had difficulties in paying the fees. AdvocAid agreed to help me, if I would in return agree to work for the organisation upon completion of the course. And of course I did! I passed the Bar Exams in early 2016 and now practice as a Pupil Barrister at B and J partners, while still providing free legal representation to AdvocAid‘s clients.
AdvocAid continues to influence my approach greatly. Whereas some of my colleagues inadvertently build barriers with their clients, I have learned how to build bridges. I believe in showing respect and humility to the client at all times, no matter their backgrounds. I often visit them in the court detention and help suspects with contacting their loved ones. I simply feel like I have to do anything in my power to help them, and I know this is because of the principles instilled in me by AdvocAid.
I will forever remain grateful to this great frontier of human rights.
As part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations, every month for 10 months, we’ll be showcasing the best of AdvocAid through guest blogs from our staff, volunteers, partners and board members.