The challenges of justice reform in an unstable democracy
Photo credit: Saqib Mahmood (2L JD/MBA)
On May 8, 2018, I received confirmation that I’d be spending the next three months on a legal internship in Sierra Leone along with Jonas Mutukistna (2L/MBA), Omar Saeed (2L), and Hiam Amar (2L).
But, there was a catch: “we must complete ninety days in the country”. For Jonas and I, this meant we had eight days to leave for Sierra Leone to be back in Canada before the start of our MBA. We had to get our vaccinations, buy tickets, pack, meet with friends and family, tie up any responsibilities that we had taken on for the next three months, and get a visa.
This last requirement proved to be harder than we thought. We needed to have proof of our vaccinations to receive a visa, and there is no Sierra Leonean embassy in Canada—the closest one is in Washington DC.
So, what did we do?
We got our vaccinations on Friday, and then, four days before flying to Sierra Leone, we drove to Trump’s (for the time being) white palace. The thirty-hour trip proved to be our first bonding experience of what was to be a crazy summer.
In a heartbeat, Jonas and I were at Pearson International Airport on our way to Sierra Leone. On our stopover in Paris, the realization began to hit—we had no idea what to expect of Sierra Leone.
Exhausted and excited, on May 21, 2018, we went to work for the first day at the Justice Sector Coordination Office, an organ of the Ministry of Justice.
As soon as we left the airport, there was a flurry of motion and, before we knew it, people were holding our bags and offering to carry them, a woman grabbed our passports and offered to get us tickets to the river ferry (from the airport city to the capital city of Freetown), and a sweet man snatched our phones to give us a SIM card. Then, simultaneously, they gave us our possessions back and asked for money. We were Canadian, right? We pulled some cash out. I did not know how much we were giving them—what was 20 USD worth in Sierra Leonean currency? Probably not much, right? It was the first, but not the last, time we got swindled.
We got to the office relatively unscathed. It was then that we first met Dr. Henry Mbawa, the Coordinator, and Shahid Korjie, the Resources and Intern Coordinator, who were guiding figures of our experience.
In the following two weeks, Omar and Hiam joined us at the office as we moved our residences from the horrible YMCA (let’s not get into it) to the basement of a JSCO consultant, Dr. Ibrahim Bangura, who was kind enough to open his home for us.
In the ensuing weeks, we saw, felt, and tasted all that Dr. Bangura had to offer. From the deliciously spicy food he fed us, the unflinching personal questions he asked, and his instructions to get into his car for unannounced long trips, we got to know him really well. He also happens to be a member of the political elite, on the ticket for the next election. He was an interesting landlord, to say the least.
Photo credit: Saqib Mahmood (2L JD/MBA)
We became comfortable in our daily routine: we would go to work and get asked to do high-level government work, from reviewing and writing policy, to crafting political speeches (including one aired speech by the Vice President of Sierra Leone), and meeting with judges, lawyers, and politicians.
My primary task with Jonas for the three months was to review a three-year Justice Reform Strategy for Sierra Leone for 2015–18 and then write the strategy for the years 2019–22. If this sounds like a monstrous task… well, it was.
On weekends, we went to beautiful beaches and cafes to watch the FIFA world cup, a chimp sanctuary, and tourist resorts. Running water and constant electricity soon became commodities that we began to revere.
The daily routine broke down in early July: no one came to pick us up in the morning. We waited for three hours before taking taxis to work. This continued for several days. Something had changed in the office; people were on edge.
As it turns out, JSCO was having financial issues. Dr. Mbawa was attracting political attention and the Minister of Justice refused to release financial resources to the JSCO. A couple months before we arrived in Sierra Leone, there was a volatile political election that brought a new party to power. The new government was critical of former government leaders, including Dr. Mbawa. Initially resisting the pressure, Dr. Mbawa eventually gave in and officially submitted his resignation letter, effective August 30—after all us interns were back in Canada.
The news had spread about the conflict, and many people at the JSCO started job-hunts in anticipation of how the upcoming resignation would impact them. Our daily work increasingly became editing resumes and job applications. The tension was palpable. But, we knew we could push through the remaining few weeks with Dr. Mbawa in office.
On Friday, July 27, the Minister of Justice fired Dr. Mbawa, effective immediately, with an internal audit the following Monday. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. That evening, we collectively wrote an email to the University of Toronto. Within three hours, we had multiple replies from various administrative stakeholders.
At 8:00 am on Saturday, we had a Skype call with Samer, the Director of the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. We decided that it would be safer, and in line with university policy, if we left as soon as possible. The next evening, we were at the airport leaving Sierra Leone.
A trip that started abruptly ended the same way. In the process, we all learned valuable insights about the world and ourselves. We arrived on home turf with a phenomenal life experience, prominent contacts, and friends that will stay with us for a long time. All in all, it was a summer well spent.
