A woman and her son have been arrested after the son raped his two young cousins living with them, leading to the death of one of the girls.
5-year-old Kadijah M. Saccoh and her sister were living with their aunt and her son in her home in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Kadijah’s parents were living apart. The father, Congolese Saccoh, is living in the U.S. and had been trying to take Kadijah, a U.S. citizen, with him to the U.S. but couldn’t because a Judge prevented him from doing so as the mother was not in support.
Kadijah and her sister remained with their aunt, who is the elder sister of Kadijah’s mum.
Unfortunately, the aunt’s son began raping Kadijah’s elder sister, aged 8, and Kadijah, aged 5.
Reports claim that when the aunt found out her son had raped Kadijah’s sister, she hid it from the children’s parents and treated the girl herself.
Her son then raped Kadijah and she hid that too and tried treating the girl. Unfortunately, Kadijah died and the aunt tried to bury her hurriedly.
According to reports, the aunt informed Kadijah’s father’s family about the death of the girl after which she asked for permission to bury the child, but the father insisted that he wanted to know the cause of the death.
The father urged his family to take the corpse for a postmortem. The postmortem result showed that the girl was raped multiple times. The father then asked that his older daughter be taken for a test too and it showed that she had been raped too.
The aunt and her son have both been arrested and people are seeking justice for Kadijah with the hashtags #JusticeForKadijahSaccoh and #JusticeForKadijah.
On Monday, June 22, celebrities in the country took to the streets to demand justice for the victim and her sister. Women also took to the streets, clad in black, to demand justice.
Demanding justice, Women in the Media Sierra Leone wrote in a press release: “As a female media organization we are deeply saddened and we therefore condemn this act.
We are calling on all authorities concerned to speedily launch an investigation into the matter and ensure the perpetrator(s) is brought to justice.
The rape & murder of 5 y/o Kadijah Saccoh should enrage everyone. No more silence! No more impunity for rapists. #SierraLeone’s #RAPE CULTURE must be dismantled. The justice system must work for Kadijah & every other victim. #justiceforkadijah #SayHerName #turningpoint pic.twitter.com/Ry3OKBn1ni
— Isha Sesay (@IshaSesay) June 23, 2020