IPNEWS – Monrovia – On April 21, 2022, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), by and through its Chairman T. Dempster Brown, filed a petition to the Chambers Justice Jamesetta Wolokolie, for a Writ of Mandamus, compelling the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General as well as the Inspector General of Police to indict and prosecute Senior Liberia National Police Officer, Joshua During accused by his junior officer of rape.
A Writ of Mandamus will compel the Ministry of Justice, Attorney General, and Police Director to perform their duties, in keeping with the Constitution and statute of Liberia.
The Supreme Court has held that Mandamus is a judicial proceeding to coerce the performance of duties devoted by law upon public officials and as an Independent Human Rights Commission, it is its responsibility to recommend the authority of the state for prosecution or other actions deemed fit against concerned persons.
According to INCHR, on February 10, a complaint was filed to its office, that an alleged rape occurred in November 2021, when Senior Officer During summoned the female officer to his office at about 4:45 pm.
However, the Commission noted in its April 21 petition, that since a formal complaint was filed, the Liberia National Police did not initially entertain said grievance, since November 2021 alleged incident as to whether or not the allegation of rape levied by the female junior officer had sufficient magnitude to warrant a formal charge of rape against the accused.
Since the reported allegation of sexual assault and/or rape levied against the Liberia National Police Montserrado regional commander, there have been claims and counterclaims suggesting a dead end to the case.
Officer Joshua During was accused by the female subordinate officer of rape and assault against her person. According to her, the incident took place in November 2021. Joshua, through a police preliminary investigation instituted after several public outcries, denied all allegations linking him to the crime.
The police, via its Deputy Inspector General for Crime Services, Prince Mulbah, noted that the elements required in authenticating the truthfulness of a rape allegation as required by law were not discovered while investigating the rape allegation against During.
The police investigation did not deter the victim who in February 2022 filed a complaint to the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, which then filed a petition to Associate Justice Jamesetta Wolokolie, who was serving as the Justice-in-Chamber for a Writ of Mandamus, as a means of compelling the Ministry of Justice and the Director of Police to indict officer Joshua During for the alleged rape.
The INCHR in its petition claimed that, despite the victim filing a formal complaint against During, police authorities failed to entertain said grievance and could not determine whether or not the allegation of rape levied by the female junior officer had sufficient magnitude to warrant a formal charge of rape against the accused.
But after the writ was filed, the Ministry of Justice conceded the INCHR petition which, among other things, calls for During’s prosecution for the alleged rape. The Ministry’s concession came after Justice Wolokollie had a conference meeting with both the INCHR lawyers and that of the state concerning the Writ of Mandamus.
At the end of the conference, the Assistant Minister for Litigation, Cllr. Wesseh A. Wesseh announced that they conceded to the petition as a means of allowing transparency to clear public doubts regarding the matter. Cllr. Wesseh added then that a formal request would be made to the police to surrender officer During to the Office of Montserrado County Attorney for investigation of the rape allegation.
Officer During, who is the Liberia National Police Montserrado regional commander, has denied all allegations linking him to the crime and appeared vindicated by the police Professional Standard Division following an investigation, but the decision sparked public outcry due to the manner in which the investigation was handled.
However, his accuser has repeatedly claimed that her revelation about the November 2021 incident involving officer During is the truth and nothing else. The victim who, before the INCHR’s involvement, had expressed dissatisfaction about the police authorities’ handling of the case, worked as a Patrol Officer, a job she held for about a decade. She also disclosed that comments of mockery have been directed at her since she took to the media to seek justice, amid fear that there would be no redress to the matter.
The police investigation, according to the INCHR, was absurd as it was conducted in a manner that was questionable.
Rape, under Liberia’s new penal code, is a crime against the state and is punishable by jail sentence of 7 to 10 years or more.
But the police, after investigating the allegation against During, rubbished the victim’s claim entirely- terming it as false and misleading. The Investigation report, which was released in February 7, 2022 claimed that the victim’s allegation that Officer During forcibly had sex with her in his office was false.
Contrary to this, the chief investigator of the case, Col. Mulbah, disclosed that examination and other checkups conducted did not show any physical injuries or bruises as evidence to suggest an act of force used, as the alleged crime was being portrayed.
He added that both officers During and the victim appeared to have a close relationship prior to the incident, which was traceable by phone calls on the call log.
However, despite the police investigation report not favoring the victim, she took flight to the INCHR, which later filed a petition to Supreme Court to compel the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia National Police to do the right and proper thing in assuring justice for the victim.
The Assistant Justice Minister of Litigation, Wesseh A. Wesseh conceded and assured the INCHR and the Supreme Court that senior police officer Joshua During would be brought for investigation for the alleged crime and prosecuted if probable cause was established during the investigation.
But it has been three months now since the Supreme Court heard the mandamus petition between the INCHR and Ministry of Justice, and there is no report of him being investigated by the Ministry for the alleged crime.
Meanwhile, an insider at the INCHR told IPNEWS that the Commission is studying the situation and may move the Supreme Court for a Bill of Information regarding the Ministry of Justice to investigate the senior police officer for alleged rape.
When the Ministry of Justice was contacted, the Director of Communications promised to contact Assistance Minister Wesseh A. Wesseh for an update on the investigation and get back to IPNEWS. It was later said that he was in court.
