West Africa: Authorities Must Repeal Colonial Vagrancy Laws Following Historic ECOWAS Ruling

The Sierra Leonean authorities must repeal vagrancy laws without delay, following a landmark ruling by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court that the colonial-era legislation discriminates against poor people and other marginalized groups, Amnesty International said.

The ruling, made on 7 November, found that Sierra Leone’s vagrancy laws – which criminalize anyone deemed to be “loitering” in public and “not giving a good account of himself” as an “idle and disorderly person”…