A former minister is currently facing trial over an alleged rape of a 24-year-old student in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, CEOAFRICA.com gathered.

According to sources, two prosecution witnesses yesterday testified behind closed doors in the Freetown Magistrate Court No. 2 presided over by Magistrate Tonia Barnett against the former deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Mahmoud Tarawallie.  

Mr. Tarawallie was arraigned on four counts of wounding with intent, wounding, rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, contrary to section 47 of the Offence Against the Person Act, 1861.

The lead defence counsel, Sulaiman Kabba Koroma had told the court that only persons under the age of 18, mentally disabled and adult victims should testify behind closed door, nothing that the application by the prosecutor fell short of the Sexual Offences Act of 2012.

Lawyer Koroma made the application after the police prosecutor, Superintendent M.B. Kamara, had applied for the third and fourth prosecution witnesses to testify behind closed door. The first and Second prosecution witnesses, including the alleged rape victim, had testified in open court, a development many legal experts and women’s rights activists found rather bizarre.

However, it was reported that Magistrate Barnett ruled in favour of the prosecution, citing the marital status of the witness.

The third prosecution witness testified that she knew the complainant as her friend and a sister and that she had known the accused since March 2013 when she went to visit a friend at Goderich. She said that while waiting for a motorbike to her back to town, he offered to give her a ride, to which she agreed and on their way, the accused gave her his complimentary card.

Furthermore, she said on September 9, 2013, the complainant phoned to inform her that the accused had promised her a scholarship to study abroad. She said the alleged rape victim requested that she accompany her to the former New England office of the accused, but she was too busy to make the trip. She told the court that the complainant told her the accused had asked for her documents, while the latter’s boyfriend later called her to meet them at the Criminal Investigations Department, where upon arrival, she saw scratch wounds on the alleged victim’s face.

The fourth prosecution witness said the alleged victim was his girlfriend, and that on the day of the alleged incident, he was at home in the morning hours when the victim told him she had an appointment with the accused, as the latter had asked her to present her documents. He testified that when the alleged victim returned home, she was crying bitterly, while blood was oozing from her mouth and right arm.

He said the victim told him that she was raped by the accused. The matter was adjourned till Monday, September 30 for further hearing.

The accused former minister was, on September 9, 2013, at No.6A Handel Street, Kingtom, intentionally had sexual intercourse with the complainant without her consent.