September 13, 2021
By: Francis F.M.Harding
Mohamed Kamara, an accused person charged with murder has appeared before Justice John Bosco Allieu on the 9th September, 2021 at the High Court in Freetown. After the Jurors deliberation they returned with a non-guilty verdict, immediately Justice John Bosco Allieu acquitted and discharged the accused person Mohamed Kamara for the offense of murder.
In the particulars of offence states that Mohamed Kamara on the 14th August, 2019 at Freetown in the Western Area in the Republic of Sierra Leone murdered, Alfred Sama. The decision came after the eleven (11) member jury unanimously returned non-guilty verdict of the accused person, Mohamed Kamara.
In his address to the jurors before the verdict, Justice Bosco Allieu cautioned the foreman and members of the jurors that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt so at the end of the day the jurors will be sure that it was the accused person who murdered the deceased known as Alfred Sama.
Justice Bosco Allieu told jurors that the totality of evidence before the court, the jurors should be satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that they should return the appropriate verdict and vice versa.
He said in relation to the evidence the prosecution should prove that the accused person is of sound mind, memory and discretion as the accused person is not a lunatic and that the accused person killed Alfred Sama.
He stressed that the jurors should go strictly according to the evidence tendered before the court as the people outside have their interpretation of the law and the jurors should not go by those evidences outside the court. He continued that the jurors must exhibits professionalism in their job as we are living in an ungrateful and their duty is not sympathy, rather should go by the evidence.
Justice Allieu narrated that PW1 Inspector Kangie in his testimony before the court said on the 15th August, 2019 one Murray Kanneh reported a case of murder and told him that the corpse has been taken to the Connaught Mortuary Hospital. The witness said the incident was reported to the Lumley Police Station and immediately he and his colleague went to the Connaught Mortuary Hospital where they saw the deceased lying down on a stretcher the witness said they called the deceased twice (Sama Sama) he did not respond. He said the senior crime officer (SOCO) took photographs of the corpse.
The witness said that he obtained statements from Murray Kanneh and he went to the scene of crime at Cassava farm Juba where one White Boy came and gave information concerning what has happened between the accused person and the deceased.
The witness said statement was obtained from ‘White Boy’ and based on the information given by White Boy they went at Femi Turner drive where the accused person was working as security and then arrested him and took him to the Lumley Police Station and then cautioned him on the offense of murdered.
The witness told the court that he met several people at the scene and he interview most of them who told him that there were confrontations between the accused person Mohamed Kamara and the deceased Alfred Sama and when are call to testify at the Magistrate Court they refused. He said on the 24th August, 2018 together with the SOCO officer they witnessed a postmortem examination of the deceased after receiving the death certificate that this man died out of shock. And after some time the Department of Public Prosecution office advised the investigator to charge the man for murder.
The accused person denied the allegations, the accused person told the police that the tenants have problem in the compound as he is the landlord of a compound and that White Boy tried to settled the problem and at one time Alfred Sama said he had a serious headache the accused person told the police that he give Le25, 000/00 to take him to the hospital where he later died. The judge said that the police told the accused person that you were the one beat that man and that the police put it to him that he kicks him on buttock with leather boot but the accused person denied the allegation.
Justice Allieu said PW2 Dr. Simeon Owiss Koroma came and testified that he did the autopsy and he tendered the cause of death. Witness Koroma said that the pathological cause of death is shock due to spectacular trauma fracture injuries to the neck. The judge said that the White Boy did not come to testify and the accused person denied the allegation to the police and the prosecution come with two evidence to testify in this court and that the people who were around during the time of the confrontation did not come to testify to the court both at the Magistrate and the High Court.
Later, the 11 panel jurors went to their room to decide on the evidence before the court and upon their return, the foreman of the jurors Mr. David Osman Kargbo said that they are considered and arrived at a unanimous decision and he was asked how do they found the accused person of the offence of murder, the foreman of the jurors said that they do not find the accused person Mohamed Kamara not guilty to the offence of murder. The state was represented by Lawyer Alberta Kargbo while Cecelia Tucker represented the accused person from the Legal Aid Board of Sierra Leone.