By: Mohamed Sahr mohamedsahrpro@gmail.com
Justice Adrian Fisher has sentenced 22-year-old convict, Chernor Bah to 13 years’ imprisonment for the offence of Migrant Smuggling contrary to Section 20(1) of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act 2022 on Monday 16th October 2022 at the High Court of Sierra Leone in Freetown.
Reading the indictment, Honorable Justice Fisher told the court that the convict obtained financial benefits from the complainant Memunatu Jalloh with the pretext to facilitate her stay in France in bridge of the law.
He said between the 10th July 2022 to 22nd and 24th October 2022, the convict attempted to traffic Memunatu Jalloh to France for the purpose of exploitation.
‘’The complainant was introduced to the convict by an agent via a Whatsapp group called Elite by one Innocent informing her that there was a travelling program organized by Innocent, and eventually the complainant found out to be fake,’’ Justice Fisher said.
He added that the convict quickly informed the complainant to work on her passport in order to embark on the journey; noting that the complainant took the passport with the sum of one thousand United States Dollars and two weeks later the convict told the complainant that he needed eight hundred Dollars more to expedite her travelling.
Smart enough for the convict, she requested for a snapshot to be taken as an evidence for the payment which she did. Eventually, the convict told the complainant that Air France does not travel to Sierra Leone and that they have to go to Liberia for Memunatu to board her flight.
Whiles in Liberia, the complainant underwent difficult moments and unhealthy condition.
‘’I suffered a lot in Liberia as there was no food and I was living in an unfinished building with no toilet facility,’’ Memunatu Jalloh told the court.
The complainant later left her suitcase behind as demanded by the convict and returned to Freetown.
After several calls had made, the complainant found out that her number was blocked and blacklisted by the convict. She sent her friend Mohamed Jalloh to fetch her suitcase and subsequently realized that her suitcase was turned into an item stolen.
The convict pleaded not guilty on count one of human trafficking.
However, the court found him guilty on count two of an attempt of conspiracy; aiding and abetting of a criminal act otherwise migrant smuggling contrary to the enactment of 2022 Migrant Smuggling Act.
The State Counsel Aruna Jalloh pleaded for 30 jail term for the convict as a result of the gravity of the crime.
The convict Chernor Bah pleaded for mercy; saying that he was just an errand boy for his master. ‘’I did this to pay my college fees,’’ convict told the court.
Memunatu Jalloh told the court that she has not received any money from the convict upon his arrest as compensation.
Justice Fisher slammed a verdict of 13 years’ imprisonment on the convict coupled with a total compensation bill of 81 million New Leones to be paid within ninety days.