On 22nd October 2022, a Facebook post by Dr John Idriss Lahai prompted a discourse on social media platforms on whether the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley, Esq obstructed the arrest and detention of Ekundayoh Walton Gilpin, the General Manager of Rokel Commercial Bank.
Mr. Gilpin has been in the news recently for alleged harassment of the Company Secretary of the Rokel Commercial Bank, where he serves as General Manager.
Former Company Secretary Mrs. Margaret Davies on Wednesday 19th October 2022 informed a press conference in Freetown of her decision to seek court action for sexual harassment at the bank against her former boss, the Managing Director of the bank.
Mrs. Davies alleged that she suffered series of “sexual advances, institutional bullying, intimidation, and victimizations” at the hand of Ekundayo Gilpin. She shared that even though the internal investigation was still ongoing by the Bank of Sierra Leone, the Board Chairman has terminated “my contract in retaliation of the sexual harassment complaint which has been making headlines in most of the widely read newspapers across the country. “Following the press conference, Mr. Gilpin was invited to the Criminal Investigation Department CID in Freetown. Shortly after that a post from Dr. Idriss Lahai trended reading.
“To this man (Sierra Leone’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General), Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley, Esq.
Stay away from the Police Investigations on Ekundayoh Walton Gilpin (the General Manager of Rokel Commercial Bank). If Gilpin is not guilty of the crime of sexual| vi0lence, the court will prove it — by relying on what fulfils the conditions of circumstantial evidence, as per the rules set by the Court that was created by President Bio to try Sexual Violence cases.
When contacted by the Truth Team, the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) , R.P.G Roberts said that Dr. Lahai’s post is ” ludicrous and devoid of substance and that the Attorney General has never contacted him with reference to the Gilpin case. ” Adding that Dr. Lahai should have contacted him to verify the information as Gilpin was invited to make a statement and he was never arrested.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice , Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley ,Esq informed the Truth Team that the post is untrue and baseless , noting that it is not the AG’s job to influence investigations but to proffer advice after investigations by the CID.
Lawyer Abubakar Dexter Bangura told the Truth Team that sexual harassment is a misdemeanour, it is not felonious, and it is bailable. He said that the legal and social understanding of sexual harassment, however, varies by culture.
Legal Access Through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice (L.A.W.Y.E.R.S) has called on the Sierra Leone police to ensure that investigations into sexual offences are concluded speedily, including that made by Margaret Davies against the Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank, Walton Ekundayo Gilpin.
L.A.W.Y.E.R.S. condemns sexual harassment in all its forms in public and private institutions in Sierra Leone and clarifies that Sexual harassment is a crime under Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act of 2019 and be treated as such. The body, whose focus is to promote the rights of women said in a Press Release that they will continue to follow the recent complaints of alleged sexual harassment within the banking and tertiary education sectors with keen interest in the country.
It will be recalled that the National Consortium on Public Accountability has also noted that Rokel Commercial Bank is grossly divided amongst two factions along political lines of the old folks and the new staff. The consortium went further to say if Board of Directors fail to settle, the issue will have the tendency to wreck the revenue generation of the entity.
According to a press release issued by the consortium on March 18, 2022, the alleged cases of sexual exploitation and abuse have damaged prominent men, who by all indications were proven innocent of any wrongdoing.
The Government of Sierra Leone owns 65% majority shares in the bank with the remaining 35% owned by ordinary citizens and institutions including NASSIT.
