As the number of fathers defaulting on payment of monthly child maintenance continues to rise, mothers are piling pressure on the Legal Aid Board to take action. “I am taking care of my child despite the COVID-19 pandemic. There is absolutely no reason why my daughter’s father should not do the same by paying the monthly maintenance he has agreed to,” said a mother who came to the office on Tuesday 9th June 2020 to call on the Board for tough action.
The Legal Aid Board’s head office in Freetown receives an average of five complaints on a daily basis against defaulting fathers in respect of maintenance payment. Complaints are also received in Legal Aid Board offices around the country.
The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles, today, June 10, issued a strong warning to defaulting fathers to pay child maintenance, including payment of arrears or risk being dragged to court. She added that it is an obligation under the law, noting that the Board will not countenance any excuse for not paying maintenance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Government and employers in the private sector continue to pay monthly salaries, so fathers have to put their priorities right and first on the list should be their children,” she stressed. “The COVID19 has affected businesses but fathers should be able to take care of their children if they put their priorities right. In a pandemic, the priority for any father should be food on the table for the children,” she furthered.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said the Board saw this coming and had therefore engaged the Honourable Chief Justice, Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards, with a view to setting up a court to handle Child Maintenance matters. “Thankfully, a lot of progress has been made to open the court for Child Maintenance matters and this will happen soon,” she said.
The Board is also calling on women to report domestic violence cases, which have been on the increase since the COVID-19 hit Sierra Leone in March 2020. “The Board is already partnering with the Sierra Leone Police to ensure victims access justice and this is why mobile numbers of police officers have been given out to women and children to seek help when they are being abused,” Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said.
“Equally victims should contact the police or Board for restraining orders for those who are battered by their partners or their lives are under threat of imminent danger. We implore the general public to be vigilant during this period and intervene in cases of domestic violence,” Mrs. Claire-Hanciles said.