By: Audrey Raymonda John
Musa Seaport Kamara, a 27-year-old businessman, and Serro Sesay, also a businessman, were arraigned before Magistrate John Manso Fornah at Pademba Road Court No. 2 on three charges related to fraud. The charges include conspiracy to defraud, obtaining money by false pretenses (contrary to Section 32(1) of the Larceny Act 1916), and possession of another person’s passport for unlawful purposes (contrary to Section 16(1) of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act 2022).
According to the police charge sheet, the accused conspired with others unknown to defraud Joseph Dawson Kamara of \$32,000 USD (equivalent to 768,000 Leones) at Tombo, Freetown.
Count two of the charge states that between the 1st and 30th of November 2024, the accused fraudulently obtained $18,000 USD from Joseph Dawson Kamara by falsely pretending that they would secure Brazilian visas for David Alhaji Mansaray, Assiatu Dawson Kamara, Mildred Dawson Kamara, and Aminata Sesay.
Count three accuses the men of illegally possessing Sierra Leonean passports between the 1st and 31st of January 2025 in the Republic of Ghana, with the intention to restrict the victims’ movement and facilitate human trafficking.
When the charges were read and explained to the accused, no plea was taken.
State Prosecutor Thoronka K. led the testimony of prosecution witness number two, David Mansaray, a businessman.
David testified that in November 2024, he received a phone call from the first accused, Musa Kamara, who informed him about a travel program for Canada, America, and Europe. David expressed interest in the American program. Kamara then told him that he could secure a Brazilian visa, which would allow him to travel to America, and provided him with the contact information for the second accused, Serro Sesay, who confirmed that she handled the transactions for Kamara.
David further testified that he, along with Aminata Sesay and Mildred Dawson Kamara, paid $18,000 USD for the travel program. The payment was made at Tombo, Freetown, with pictures taken during the transaction. An agreement was signed by Serro Sesay, her son Gibrilla Sesay, and David, confirming the details of the payment.
David said that he and his wife, Aminata, did not have passports, but Kamara assured him that he had someone at the immigration office who would fast-track the process. David later sent the required passport pictures and paid an additional Le5,000 for two passports.
Three weeks later, Kamara sent pictures of visas, but David noticed discrepancies, including a change in their names to “Osman Korka Diallo” and “Aminata Williams.” When David raised concerns, Kamara reassured him that everything would be handled.
The first accused then directed David to pay an additional \$8,000 to Gibrilla Sesay. David also paid $6,000 to Haja Zainab Kamara at Funkia Goderich, and more documents and pictures were exchanged.
David explained that after receiving the passports for his wife, who was pregnant, Kamara instructed them to travel to Ghana. Upon arriving in Ghana, David and his family learned that the visas and tickets were fake. This discovery led to the arrest of his wife, who was later released with the help of a Sierra Leonean working at the airport. They then returned to the hotel in Ghana.
David reported the matter to the Ghanaian police and later conducted a search at the first accused’s house. During the search, nine Sierra Leonean passport books, including his own, were found and confiscated. The matter was transferred to Sierra Leone’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), where David made a statement.
Defense counsel Z.A. Kanu applied for bail on behalf of the accused, stating that they were Sierra Leonean residents with fixed abodes and reliable sureties who would stand in their recognizance if bail was granted.
Magistrate Fornah refused bail due to the nature of the offence and remanded the accused to the Male Correctional Center in Freetown. The case was adjourned to 28th August 2025 for further proceedings.