By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
On Friday 5th May, during the closing of January criminal session at the High Court presided over by John Bosco Alieu, Twenty-two years old Tenneh Brima has been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment who was found guilty of murder.
The convict was before the court on one count of murder.
State counsel, Alberta Kargbo alleged that the convict on the 30th October pril 2020 in Freetown murdered her two years old biological daughter, Sai Sitta Kamara.
Giving a summary of the matter, Justice Alieu said it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the guilty of the accused and for her to prove it the prosecutor, led evidence three witnesses of which the uncle of the convict was the first to testify on oath.
He said the uncle of the convict, Mathew Brima told the court that he saw the convict that very morning with the kid strapped on her back before they left, adding that after sometime he was later called by an unknown man to a scene where the deceased was already wrapped in a mat.
He further told the court that when he asked what happen with the child they told him that the wrapper of the mother got loosed while trying to cross a stream and the baby fell into the water.
Justice Allieu said the autopsy report of the pathologist Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma corroborated the testimony of the convict uncle by saying that the child died by normal wet drowning with no physical assault.
After the prosecution close their case, the convict in her defense said she relied on her statement made to the police where she said on the day of the incident, she was undergoing stressful situations from her uncle’s wife whom she had accused of being a witch, so during the crossing that morning, the child got heavier and while trying to remove the baby from her back, the baby slipped and eventually drown into the water.
She further told the police that after the baby has fell into the water, she took the baby from the water and she rushed with her to a medical doctor who later told her that the baby has dead.
After given his summery, Justice Allieu asked the jurors to go and looked that the evidence and return their verdict. After 30 minutes, the jurors return with a guilty verdict, everyone in the court room was sucked where Justice Allieu asked them twice if they agreed on their verdict, they said yes.
The presiding Judge after the guilty verdict he left with no option but to convict the accused and sentenced her to 30 years imprisonment.