By:Audrey Raymonda John
Magistrate Mark Ngegba of Pademba road court No1 has on Friday 20th October committed Alpha Kamara a police officer that was arraigned before him on preliminary investigation for the alleged murder of Abubakarr Munu.
The accused Alpha Kamara was arraigned on one count charge of murder contrary to law.
According to the particular of offences the accused on Monday 14th August 2023, at Kissi Town in the Waterloo headquarters judicial district Murder Abubakarr Munu.
Prior to the committal, the prosecution witness No4 Ibrahim Baimba Sesay led in evidence by ASP Mansaray said he is a businessman.
He recognized the accused as a police officer and also the deceased Abubakar Munu.
The witness said on Monday 14th August 2023, whiles he was at Afroted bar together with the deceased, the accused came with one man name Fisher and the accused attacked the deceased saying that he has his chain.
He said the accused told the deceased that if he does not produce his chain he will deal with him.
According to the witness the deceased told him that the accused owes him 200 thousand new Leones and that if he does not give his money he will not give the chain,
Baimba added that PW1 opted to pay the money for the accused but he said he is not going to pay that unless he deals with the deceased.
Whiles they were arguing, the witness said the accused held on the deceased clothes, and during the fight, one of the accused colleagues came to the scene with a pepper spray and handed it over to the accused which he sprayed on the deceased face.
”Whiles we were trying to stop them from fighting, one Isho restrained us from separating them whiles the accused continued to spray the deceased and in the process the deceased became helpless”, he explained.
He said when the accused saw that the deceased was helpless; he left the scene and went to the Waterloo police station.
The witness said they called a police officer who came to the scene and took the deceased in PW1 vehicle to the police station but said at that time the deceased was already dead before they could reach the police station.
”At the station I met the accused making report and I immediately informed the police that he has killed the deceased so he was arrested whiles me and one of the police took the remains of the deceased to the Connaught mortuary hospital.
He said he made statement to the police.
The accused who was unrepresented asked the witness during cross examination if he was the one that hit the deceased first, and the witness replied in the affirmative.
The accused put it to the witness that he only sprays the pepper spray on the air and not on the deceased but the witness said it was not on the air but directly on the deceased that led to his death.
He also put it to the witness that the deceased was holding a bottle of stout and Kush in his hands at the time they were arguing the witness replied in the negative.
After the completion of the cross examination by the accused the Prosecutor ASP Mansaray closes the case for the prosecution.
Magistrate Mark Ngegba having looked at the evidence adduced by the prosecution against the accused, he committed the matter to the high court for further trial and ordered the accused to be remanded in prison.
The accused Alpha Kamara was charged to court on the 19th September 2023 and thereafter made six subsequent appearances before the matter was committed to the high court. He has been in prison since then with no legal representation made on his behalf.