By: Nyima Sillah
The National Coordinator of the Network against Gender-Based Violence (NGBV), FalluSowe has urged National Assembly to amend the section of the 1997 Constitution that allows the executive to use the prerogative of mercy to pardon anyone without the National Assembly being consulted.
“The Executive should always put the plight of the victims, public interest, and the image of the country into different perspectives before taking such a decision in the future,” Sowe told The Voice in an Interview following the recent presidential pardon of some prisoners including rapists by the head of state.
Expressing his reaction to the recent pardoning, especially the rapists, Mr. Sowe said he was surprised and disappointed with the pardoning of convicted rapists, saying the Network against Gender-Based Violence views it like giving justice to survivors by one hand and snatching it with the other.
“The disheartening thing about it is that most of the survivors of the pardoned rapists were children at the time they were violated,” he asserted.
According to the national coordinator of the network against gender-based violence, the pardoning of those rapists would hurt society and the lives of survivors.
“It may traumatize the survivors and their families since most of them live in the same communities and they will see them walking freely. It may pose a danger to women and girls in their communities as there is a risk of rapists raping other women and girls in their communities. It will make the public lose confidence and trust in the justice system which may result in people not reporting cases but settling them in their own way,’’ Sowereiterated.
He continued: “It may encourage people to rape or sexually assault women and girls thinkingthat they stand the chance of being pardoned. The safety of women and children will be threatened because we now have convicted rapists in our communities walking freely and they might rape other people. Also, it gives the impression that the Government did not take sexual violence seriously. It will give them the impression that they can commit serious crimes like rape and get away with it,” Mr. Sowepointed out.