First Trial Under Sierra Leone's Child Marriage Ban: Four Men Appear in Landmark Case

For the first time since Sierra Leone outlawed child marriage two years ago, four men have been brought to trial in a High Court in the capital, Freetown, accused of forcing a 17-year-old girl into marriage. Among the defendants are the girl's father and the man she was forced to marry. The BBC is not naming them to protect the child's identity.

All four initially pleaded guilty, but the prosecutor reclassified one plea as "not guilty" after the alleged husband claimed he had obtained consent from the child's mother under the outdated Customary Marriage Act. If convicted, the defendants face a minimum of 15 years in prison, a fine of around $4,000 (£3,200), or both. The next hearing is scheduled for 2 July.

Under the new law, even those who attend a child's wedding can be arrested and imprisoned. Sierra Leone has a patriarchal culture where it was long common for fathers to forcibly give away their daughters. Despite the minimum marriage age being 18, many underage forced marriages still occur, often officiated by local religious leaders. Prosecutors say this particular marriage took place in Grafton, on the outskirts of Freetown.

Sierra Leone's Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay told the BBC the charges represent "a significant milestone" in enforcing the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2024. He confirmed this is the first time charges have been brought for contracting, consenting to, or facilitating child marriage. "Before 2024 we had conflicting pieces of legislation, one of which – the Customary Marriage Act – allowed parents to give their consent if the bride was a minor. But this changed two years ago when customary law was struck out," he explained, giving "a new regime to indict anyone taking part in the marriage of someone below the age of 18."

The four men are charged with contracting marriage with a child, consenting to child marriage, and aiding and abetting child marriage. The girl's father is alleged to have facilitated the marriage and played an active role during the ceremony. Gender activists have welcomed the move. The president of the all-female lawyers' group Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice told the BBC she felt "extremely happy". Menisa Sesay said it showed legal reforms for which they had fought hard were finally being enforced.

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, up to 30% of girls in Sierra Leone are married before age 18, with some brides as young as 14 in rural areas. The development comes a day after the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria, ruled that Sierra Leone had failed to take adequate measures to prevent child marriage and to protect an 11-year-old girl in a case filed in 2024. The court found that child marriage constitutes gender-based violence and that Sierra Leone failed to properly investigate the minor's marriage.