By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
28 years old Kaifala Mansaray appeared before Hon. Justice Monfred Sesay of the High Court No.1 in Freetown on one count charge of Manslaughter.
State prosecutor A. Jalloh made an application for Amendment of substitution of the indictment to be changed from Murder to Manslaughter and from the particulars of offence in the indictment from Murder to Unlawful killing which was granted by the Judge.
The state prosecutor continued with the accused case read aloud in court.
State prosecutor in addressing his case said the accused and the deceased are blood brothers and that on the night of the 7th October 2018the accused was playing loud music to the annoyance of other occupants of his father’s premises at K.Man drive Hilltop, Hill station.
He continued that in the morning hours on the 8th October 2018 his father Foday Mansaray who is now deceased cautioned the accused to stop disturbing the peace of other occupants and the accused replied his father that he is not the only person playing music at the said premises and this reply angered the deceased and threatened the accused of destroying his musical stereo as a result both the deceased and the accused fought each other and were separated and according to state counsel the deceased dashed out of the veranda and came back with a knife to attack the accused and the accused saw this and ran away and locked himself in his room.
He went on that the father and few neighbors succeeded in removing the knife from the deceased firm grip and he then jumped and ran towards the window of the accused where he was trying to break in to the room of the accused damaging the windows and that the accused quickly picked up a knife in his room and rushed outside heading for the street. The deceased ran after him with a stick and hit him at the first attempt and at the second attempt the accused raised his knife and stabbed him to the chest.
State counsel A. Jalloh said the deceased sister Saio Mansaray tried to stop the deceased from chasing the accused but to no avail.
He said the accused after stabbing his blood brother ran to the police station at Hilltop Mountain Division to report him of the crime he committed. The deceased was rushed to the hospital but died later as result of the wound.
The accused when asked in court of being guilty or not guilty responded with being guilty of the allegation he was standing trial for.
The Judge in his summoning up convicted the accused of Manslaughter. The judge was enraged that the rampant spree of crimes of youth was parents failing in their duties as parents in training up children and that the parents always cast aspersion on the government due to youth intake of drugs.
In court he asked of the cause of the fathers illness and the mother of both the accused and deceased said the father Foday Mansaray died as a result of a long illness and that she was not the one who trained up the child but the father, she said she went to love with her own parents due to misunderstanding between her and the father at Funkia and that at the time she left the accused was in primary 3 and since she left both the accused and deceased were unable to further with their studies.
The judge said to the accused that his actions was solely based on Kush a drug youths take that is responsible for death rates and high rise of youth crime across the country and said the parents blame it on the government when they as a parent have a duty towards proper care of their child.
The accused pleaded for mercy and that he is a first time offender and regrets of his actions that his actions were not intentional.
Defense Counsel plea mitigation for the accused said the accused is a first time offender, though the facts reveal a harrowing experience, he is remorseful and regrets of his actions as he reported himself to the police and he is the only surviving child of the mother and that given the chance he would be responsible and rehabilitate his life.
The accused was sentenced to 8years imprisonment by Hon. Justice Monfred Sesay and sentence to be run concurrently as he had already spent 4 years at the time of his arrest.
