By: Mohamed Sahr
Honourable Justice Simone Allieu of the High Court of Sierra Leone sentenced Ishmael Koroma a convict and resident of Kamabai village in the Bombali District the Northern Province of Sierra Leone to thirty-six years for conspiring to commit murder and wit murder Kadiatu Yeamie Kargbo (deceased).
Count one statement of offence stated that on 1st March 2020 and on diverse date between that specific date and the 8th March 2020 in the Bombali District conspired with others unknown to commit a felony to wit murder.
Count two explained that Ishmael Koroma on the 8th March 2020 in Bombali District murder Kadiatu Yeamie Kargbo.
Convict was to spend four (4) years for count one and thirty-two (32) years for count two concurrently.
Addressing the foreman and members of the jury, Justice Simone Allieu told them that whatever the accused did, he literally did it with malice; adding that the accused was presumed to be a normal person at the time of his action.
Justice Simone Allieu said the deceased died within the year of action and she died as a result of what the accused did to her. “If at the end of the day there is a reasonable doubt, you have to exercise that in the interest of the accused,” Justice Simone Allieu said.
He furthered in his summing-up that his duty was to assist the members of the jury on the relevance of the law.
The Prosecuting Witnesses for the matter were Martin Giboa Karim, Kadiatu Nyakui, Abu Conteh, Cherinor Sawanneh a farmer, Adama Kawama and Ibrahim Songa.
Pw1 Martin Giboa Karim said there was a whole resemblance of grave at the search of the deceased. He mentioned that the found in possession a written agreement between the convict and co-conspirators in order to kill the deceased. The agreement went with an amount of ten million Leones as a payment for the killing of the deceased.
Justice Simone Allieu showed the court the written agreement. Justice Simone Allieu told the court that the accused took the deceased on top of a motorbike in Kamabai Park with the pretext that a friend of her wanted huge quantity of fish to buy without the knowledge that she had been connived to be killed and it took days without seeing the deceased.
Pw1 Cherinor Sawanneh who was a relative to the deceased told the court that the police gave the accused now (convict) a week to search for the deceased but to no vail; noting that a corpse was identified as the deceased due to the clothes she last worn on the day she left on the 26th March 2020.
Testifying to the court, the accused said he took full hands in the killing of the deceased. Ishmael Koroma (convict) said on the 29th February 2020, the Chairman for Kamrabia Park called “Jay Park” told him to assist them to get rid of Kadiatu Yeamie Kargbo now deceased and they would reward him with 10 million Leones.
He said Jay Park, Numney and Daddy where on the motorbike behind him and the deceased person to an unknown place. According to Justice Simone Allieu, the convict lied go the deceased that there was an accident and they were to rush and see what was wrong. It was there J. Park and other others rushed on the deceased, tired her mouth and eyes and draged her into a bush.
The convict said he saw Jay Park with a black plastic and a knife. “I later saw something in the plastic and blood all over his body,” Justice Simone Allieu read the statement of the accused now convict.
Harold Kingsley and Sahr Momoh Esq were the Defense Counsels and Philratu Hastings Spains Esq was the State Counsel.