By Alusine A. Sesay
I have been closely following a deeply disturbing case involving a Lebanese national, Ahmed Basha of Basha Bakery on Wilkinson Road, who is alleged to have harboured underage girls at his residence.
The accusations are grave: he reportedly drugged them, subjected them to repeated sexual abuse, locked them indoors, and disappeared for hours—only to return and continue this horrific pattern over successive days.
Before we proceed further, let us establish a crucial fact on which this entire matter hinges: were these girls under the age of 18?
If the answer is yes, then it is immaterial whether they “willingly” entered his premises or not.
Legally and morally, this is a heinous crime.
The law is explicit and unambiguous: any consent or decision made by a minor is void and carries no weight.
Ahmed Basha must therefore face the full weight of justice—harbouring minors, sexual abuse, and unlawful intercourse constitute three separate and serious offences against each of these girls.
It is disheartening, though sadly predictable, to read comments from self-appointed “pundits” claiming that the teenagers went to his house willingly.
This, quite frankly, is legal and moral illiteracy of the highest order. To those parroting such nonsense: stop embarrassing yourselves. This is a display of breathtaking stupidity.
According to Sierra Leonean law, and indeed international standards, the alleged willingness of a child is LEGALLY IRRELEVANT. Whether they arrived by aeroplane, okada, or on foot, the moment an adult engages sexually with a minor, a grave criminal offence has occurred.
May I remind the public of the high-profile case of Mohamed Kamarainba, who was convicted and imprisoned for four years for allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a minor?
Despite all the political undertones surrounding that matter, he paid a heavy price.
Are we to believe that a foreigner accused of vile, and more egregious, crimes will escape unpunished? This situation beggars belief.
What are the police actually doing? Where are the women’s rights organisations, so often vocal on far less urgent matters?
Where are they?- Or have they become selective in their advocacy?
Silence in the face of such atrocities is not neutrality; it is complicity.
In the United Kingdom for instance, any adult convicted of sexual activity with a minor is immediately placed on the Sex Offenders Register, and prohibited from ever working with or contacting children. And if the offender is a foreign national, their citizenship is revoked without hesitation. Upon completing their prison term, they are deported as a threat to public safety.
This is the standard any serious and self-respecting nation must uphold. Foreign nationals, no matter their economic influence, must never be permitted to abuse the hospitality of their host country by preying on its most vulnerable citizens.
To lure underage girls into one’s premises, detain them, and sexually exploit them for days on end is an act of unspeakable depravity.
What country, worthy of the name, would allow its children to be treated this way?
Let’s not sugarcoat this.-Only a state devoid of patriotism, law, and dignity would tolerate such atrocities. —a pariah incapable of protecting its own.
