FLASHBACK: Defendant-Winnie-on-his-way-to-Court
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
In a surprise move, a woman whose private part was damaged by her boyfriend who last year splashed super glue there, is preventing authorities from prosecuting the allegedly perpetrated the act in Liberia’s southeastern Sinoe County.
Last October, Liberians and the world at large heard the shocking story about a 22-year-old woman whose boyfriend put caustic chemical in her private part, thereafter sealed it with a superglue.
The boyfriend, Joe M. Winnie, age 30, has since admitted committing the act. He is also said to have used caustic, after his girlfriend refused him sex because she was tired after a hard day’s work.
He committed the act while his girlfriend was asleep. “My boyfriend, Joe full my mouth oh, I told him I was tire and he still and always forcing me,” the victim told journalists after the incident.
After the incident on October 15 last year, the victim was taken to the F. J. Grant referral hospital for treatment and later put in a safe home for Sexual and Gender Based Victim survivors in the area.
In an interview with Sinoe County Attorney, Daniel T. Dweh, he said since he returned in the county for the February term of court, the superglue victim has been complaining that she doesn’t want her boyfriend to be prosecuted on grounds that she is 7-8 months pregnant.
The victim was said to be pregnant when the incident occurred.
Attorney Dweh added that the victim asked him: what if her boyfriend is convicted and sentenced, who will take care of her and her unborn baby?
To make ends meet, the woman is currently selling plantain and banana. It is said that after her selling, she usually cooks food and carry it to her boyfriend at the prison where he is being incarcerated.
Her action has surprised many local rights activists and citizens in the county, Sinoe County Attorney disclosed to this news outlet.
Atty. Dweh also disclosed that the victim has boldly informed him that she won’t appear in court to testify against her boyfriend.
According to Attorney Dweh, after her pronouncement of not appearing in court to testify against her boyfriend, he immediately called rights activists including the gender coordinator to inform them about what the survivor had told him.
The defendant was indicted during the November A.D. 2021 term of court by the grand jury of Sinoe County on multiple offenses ranging from criminal attempt to commit murder, rape and aggravated assault.
County Attorney Dweh said that the matter was assigned for March 7,2021 to commence trial of the case in question. But based what the survivor has said, it may not be possible.
The cruel act committed against the survivor led the office of Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor to issue a press statement condemning such wicked act.
Meanwhile, Sinoe County Attorney Dweh has said that they are still making efforts to convince this victim of SGBV to have the case go to trial.
Police charged the man with multiple crimes. The incident happened in Money Camp in Jladae Statutory District #2. And the charges range from Rape, Criminal attempt to commit murder, terroristic threat and Aggravated Assault.
When the incident happened, several women groups in the County condemned the act meted out by defendant Winnie and they promised to follow this case to its logical conclusion.
Some of the groups are the National Institute for Public Opinion (NiPO), Southeastern Women Development Association (SoWODA) and Sinoe women.
The women groups are also demanding that the case be transferred from Sinoe County to another county as it was done with other similar cases in the past.