By: Audrey Raymonda John
The chief prosecutor of Ross Road Court No.3, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Fatmata Kuyateh has on behalf of his team informed the Bench that most of the case files they inherited are dumbed.
She made the above disclosure just after the sitting Magistrate Samuel Bangura who succeeded Magistrate Hadiru Daboh questioned her about the series of adjournments and non-progress on the files which are before him for redress.
Responding to the above, DSP Fatmata Kuyateh said those files have been handed by the former prosecutor and when she took over, she tried her level best to put modalities in place to prosecute same but to no avail.
She said she has witnessed several times when her team was calling on witnesses and accused persons to come and continue their matter, but according to her, the frustrating part was that some of the complainant and witnesses vehemently failed to turn up…,
DSP Fatmata Kuyateh said at one time, she was in court when Inspector Kamara, Sergeant McCarthy, Sergeant Fonah and others were calling their witnesses but they responded that they have nothing to do in court.
She said on the other hand, some of the accused persons on those files willfully failed to appear in court and are difficult to arrest on warrant because their addresses are fake.
“My Lord, we are really trying our best to do our cases but are frustrate with the attitude of some of the complainant and their witnesses “, she stated.
She said they are really facing a lot of challenges executing their duties as police officers and at the end of the day, it was the citizens they are in court to serve that are blackmailing them that they are not working as mandated.
“They are not only wasting our time but also the resources of the police who make sure that their matters are investigated and charged to court for redress”, she stressed.
After checking the files to ascertain the facts, Magistrate Samuel Bangura was left with no option but to discharge files that have been due for want of prosecution.
He further reminded the prosecutors that discharge is not a bar as complainants can come and continue their matter whenever they are ready to do so.
Magistrate Bangura admonished the prosecutor to always return files back to the station whenever the accused are not bought. He said they should sign when returning it.