30yrs old Fatmata Bah made another appearance before Magistrate Sahr Kekura of Pademba road court No.1 in Freetown on two count charges to wit Conspiracy to commit human trafficking contrary to section 18 of the Anti-Human trafficking Act 2005, Act No.7 of 2005 and engaging in trafficking in person contrary to section 2 (1) of the Anti-human trafficking Act 2005.
According to the particulars of offence on diverse dates between the 13th December and 19th December 2021 at Freetown the western area in Freetown conspired together with other persons unknown to traffic Assiatu Bah from Conakry, Guinea to Sierra Leone for the purpose of exploitation.
On count two at the same place the accused person engaged in trafficking in person by the receipt of Assiatu Bah from Conakry, Guinea to Sierra Leone by means of deception for the purpose of exploitation
The defence counsel didn’t object to the interpreter to interpret from fullah to Krio and from krio to Fullah
Prosecution witness number one sixteen years old Isatu Lamarana Bah who lives in Guinea said she recall on the 13th day of December 2021 and she know the accused person through her younger brother the witness said she was staying with her younger sister in Conakry.
The witness said while staying with her sister she came in contact with one Mamadu Muctar Bah who told her that he resides in Freetown and the said Muctar Bah propose to married her and she told him that she has a fiancée, Muctar also told her that he has secured a job so he wants to help her and he introduced her to one Lamranah Sow in Conakry who is his brother the witness said herself and her elder sister visited Lamranah Sow in Conakry on her arrival and the said Lamranah Sow promised to employ he in his office and told her if she work theirs he will earn money and travel out of the country.
The witness said she later returned home with her sister.
The witness said Lamranah Sow asked her to pay money before she secured the job and her sister told him that we didn’t have money to pay and she called on Muctar Bah and informed him with regards the money, Muctar told her to continue pester her sister to give the money to her because the job will be beneficial to her, her sister advised her to ignore that and continue to attend school.
Muctar advised her not to go to school but let her used her school fees to pay for the job the witness said based on the adviced she got from Muctar she didn’t go to school and her elder sister insisted that if I she didn’t go to school let her vacate from her house, then she decided to go to school because she didn’t want to quit from her sister place, the witness said after some time she communicated with Muctar and she informed him that am going to school, he advised her not to go to school but to harass her elder brother or her relatives to pay for her the witness said she spoke with her elder brother one Mamadu Juldeh to pay for her and he asked her to come with the documents pertaining the job because the amount involve is huge.
The witness said they’re requesting for eight hundred United state dollars which is equivalent to eight million leones and she asked the said Lamranah for the documents, he told her he will not give the documents because she has not been employed by then but if she need the document let her pay one million franc Guinea for it, I told Mamadu Muctar who is residing in sierra Leone that I can’t raise the money to pay for the document.
The said Mamadu Muctar advised me to travel to Sierra Leone I told Muctar that I have my school fees which was given to my elder sister to pay Mamadu Muctar advised me not to pay my school fees but to use the fees at transport fare to travel to Freetown.
The witness said I have never travelled to Freetown or Sierra Leone this is my first trip I asked Mamadu Muctar how would I travel to Freetown he told me not to worried he has his elder sister in Freetown.
she went to the lorry park in Conakry Mamadu Muctar communicated to the driver because she cannot speak krio he was directing the driver where to take her in Freetown and they arrived in Freetown and the driver stopped her at a certain point and he told her that Mamadu Muctar told him to stop her there and she spoke with Mamadu Muctar who told her to disembark from the vehicle and Wait for his elder sister she will come and pick her up and he has given his sister her telephone number.
The witness said at the junction a woman approached and asked her whether i am the one who came to visit Mamadu Muctar I answered in the affirmative the woman that approached her on her arrival in Freetown is now the accused person in the dock.
The witness said the accused took her to her house and gave her water to take her bath and she also gave her food to eat, they were residing together, the following day the witness said the accused told her that Mamadu Muctar will visit her in the evening hours and Mamadu Muctar visit her in the evening hours at the resident of the accused Mamadu Muctar told me God has destined her to get the job.
Mamadu Muctar told her not to listen to any body he is ready to help her to knows that her relatives are looking out for her because she left them unceremoniously, Mamadu Muctar told her that what they normally do to get the money he will pretend to her relatives that they want to kill her if they don’t pay ransom they’ll kill her then her relatives will send the money but the accused was not present when Mamadu Muctar was telling her that and she told him not to tell her relatives that they want to kill her because her mother is hypertensive and her relatives will get worried and he told her to wait for the accused person to return home and she will advise them what to do, when the accused returned home.
She didn’t meet Muctar home at her residence the accused asked me whether Muctar has told me the purpose of my visit to Sierra Leone and she answered and said yes and she told her not to be afraid it is for her success and when she earn the money her people will also benefit from it, the accused said she made sure that Muctar was employed in the said job that they have several people working of her similar status, the witness said the accused person gave her example of a lady who ran away from her parents in Bamako (Mali)and she has been employed.
The accused person told her not to worry she will go to the employers the following day the accused person took her to the employers and introduced her to them they asked her for her country or origin and she told him she’s from Guinea the employer further asked her if she has documents I told him that I don’t have documents and the employer to her that before they employed her she has to give him fifteen million Leones he didn’t told her weather is Leones, dollars or frane Guinean currency the employer further asked her to travel out of this country she told him that she want to traveled.
The said employer gave her several options such as America and Canada then she choose Canada and the employer told her to go and come on Tuesday with the money the witness said when they returned home the accused told her that they are going to called her relatives and inform them that they are about to kill me so they will get scared and send the money she further said that she will find someone who will talk to her relatives whilst she will be at the background pretending as if she is under duress or screaming.
the witness said the accused person took her to one man whom his job to call and she told her to tell the said man to call her relatives it they don’t send the money they’ll kill her .
she told the man exact what the accused person told her to tell him and the man made the call in her presence and the accused person the caller spoke in French to her relatives the caller was shouting over the phone that if her people didn’t send the money or twenty two million frane Guinean they will kill and throw her remains in the street and she was pretending at the background as if she was crying her sister accepted to send the money.
She enquired by what means she should send the money the caller replied that they will communicate to her sister how she will send the money, the following day they made another call again and said if they don’t send the money by 2pm they will kill her the caller told her sister to go to any orange money agent and they’ll give the number to the agent so she will send the money through it.
The witness said they waited for the money but her sister did not send the money on that day, when they returned home the accused person told her to switch her phone off the following day the accused went to town and bought new Sim to make phone calls to her sister the witness said when she insert the Sim in her phone, she realized that her Sim cannot accommodate plenty of money.
The accused asked her whether her Sim is also orange money she told them that her Sim is orange money she said yes and she has money inside her Sim and the accused sent her orange money number to her sister so that she will send the money through it her sister didn’t send the money to the caller or the accused person, the accused received certain information in respect of Lamranah.
She took her to the purported office in Freetown, where they promised to travelled out of the country when she paid the money, whilst they were at the said office a team of police officers met them at the said office and arrested the accused including herself, they were taken to the police station, and she later made statement to the police, she concluded.
The defence counsel A.D Achatoh renewed his previous Bail applications on behalf of the accused person.
However, Magistrate Kekura refused bail and sent the accused person to the male correctional center in Freetown.
The matter adjourned to the 17th February 2022.
Assistant Superintendent of police Christian Davies Cole is Prosecuting the matter