Section Chief, Chiefdom Police Officer Implicated in Assault of Suckling Mother & Baby

By Richmond B. Tholley

A suckling mother and her one-year-old son were allegedly assaulted in Mara Chiefdom, Bombali District, Northern Sierra Leone. Zainab Sesay and her child were reportedly attacked by a native police officer and the Section Chief of Mara on March 28, 2025, prompting an official investigation by the Sierra Leone Police Force. “The Section Chief, James Fullah, ordered the Chiefdom Police Officer to drag me while in handcuffs, publicly disgracing me,” Sesay recounted. The Mena Police Station in Makeni is currently investigating the case. Medical report forms have been issued to the mother and child and endorsed by the medical superintendent of Makeni Regional Hospital as part of the investigation. Sesay explained that she had a previous altercation with a relative, leading to a fine imposed by the authorities after both parties used public insults. On the day of the alleged assault, she stated that Section Chief Fullah ordered Officer Umaro Jalloh to handcuff her until she paid the fine. While attempting to make the payment, she was further detained in the Chiefdom cell in Mara Town on the Section Chief’s orders. Despite legal advice to take the matter to the Chiefdom Local Court, as required by law, the Section Chief reportedly insisted on detaining her. Witnesses confirmed that the officer, acting on the Chief’s command, dragged Sesay along with her baby while she was still handcuffed. “I sustained injuries and wounds from the assault on both me and my baby,” she added. Meanwhile, the Mena Police Station has summoned three individuals—the Section Chief, the police officer, and the Chiefdom Youth Chairman—to report on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Calls for a swift and impartial investigation have intensified, especially considering that one of the victims is a one-year-old child. Reports indicate that Sesay was forced to pay 250 leones even after the alleged assault. Authorities in Mara Chiefdom have previously faced accusations of human rights violations. A few years ago, a man was publicly stripped and beaten under the command of the same Section Chief over a false accusation of goat theft. Many similar cases have reportedly gone unresolved. Sesay is now appealing to civil rights activists to intervene and ensure justice is served.