For the first time since child marriage was banned in Sierra Leone two years ago, people accused of committing the crime have been brought to trial.
Four men appeared at a High Court on Friday in the capital city, Freetown, charged with the forcible marriage of a 17-year-old girl.
Among the accused are the girl’s father and her so-called husband. The BBC is not naming them to protect the child’s identity.
All four men pleaded guilty – but because the alleged groom claimed he had obtained consent from the child’s mother for the marriage, relying on the outdated customary marriage act, his plea was re-classed by the prosecutor as “not guilty”.
If convicted, the defendants will be jailed for at least 15 years or fined around $4,000 (£3,200), or both. Their next hearing is due on 2 July.
Under the new law, even those who attend the wedding of a child can be arrested and jailed.
Sierra Leone is a patriarchal society, and it has long been common for a father to give his daughter’s hand in marriage forcibly.
Despite the fact that 18 is now the minimum age to wed, many instances of underage girls being forced to marry persist in the country, often officiated by local religious figures.
Prosecutors say this particular marriage happened in Grafton, on the outskirts of the capital city, Freetown.
“The charges represent a significant milestone in the enforcement of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2024”, Sierra Leone’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay told the BBC.
He confirmed this was the first time that charges had been brought against anyone for offences related to contracting, consenting to or facilitating child marriage.
“Before 2024, we had conflicting pieces of legislation, one of which – the Customary Marriage Act – allowed parents to give their consent if the bride was a minor.”
But this changed two years ago when customary law was struck out, he explained, giving “a new regime to indict anyone taking part in the marriage of someone below the age of 18”.
The four men in this landmark case are charged with contracting marriage with a child, consenting to child marriage, plus aiding and abetting child marriage.
The bride’s father is alleged to have facilitated the marriage between one of the defendants and the child, and allegedly played an active role during the marriage ceremony, “ensuring that the marriage was successfully conducted”.
Gender activists have been quick to respond to the unprecedented move. The president of the all-female lawyers’ group, Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice, told the BBC she felt “extremely happy”.
Menisa Sesay said it showed the legal reforms for which they had fought so hard were finally being enforced, vindicating their mission to protect the rights of vulnerable women and girls.
As many as 30% of girls in Sierra Leone are married before they turn 18, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch, while in rural areas, some of the brides are said to be as young as 14.
Activists had expressed concerns that, despite the tough laws, lawbreakers were not being reined in.
“The charges brought against the four… is reassuring that there is light at the end of the tunnel for women and girls in Sierra Leone,” Sesay said.
Friday’s development comes a day after the regional Ecowas Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria, delivered a judgment involving an 11-year-old Sierra Leonean girl, which was filed in 2024 by the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa and AdvocAid Limited.
It found that “Sierra Leone failed to take adequate measures to prevent and eliminate child marriage and to effectively protect the minor in the case and other girls from the practice”.
The ruling said that child marriage constituted a form of gender-based violence and found that Sierra Leone failed in its obligation to properly investigate the child marriage of the minor.
