By: Audrey Raymonda John
Mohamed Kamanda, a driver attached to the House of Parliament, has made his first appearance before Magistrate John Manso Fornah at Pademba Road Court No. 2 in Freetown on a charge of larceny contrary to Section 2 of the Larceny Act 1916.
According to the charge sheet, on Tuesday, 30th December 2025, at the Parliament Building, Tower Hill, Western Area, Freetown, the accused allegedly stole a Nissan Armada V8 Jeep with registration number MDR 001, valued at 75,000 United States dollars.
He is also accused of stealing twenty thousand Leones in cash and one pair of sunglasses, bringing the total value of the stolen items to One Million Eight Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety Leones (Le 1,827,890).
The properties are said to belong to Honourable Dixon Momoh Rogers.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sorie Conteh, called Inspector Ernest Alfred Brima as Prosecution Witness No. 2. Inspector Brima is attached to the Parliament Police Station.
In his testimony, the witness stated that he recognized the accused driver at Parliament and also knew the complainant, Honourable Dixon Momoh Rogers, who serves as Director of Transport at Parliament.
Inspector Brima recalled that on 30th December 2025, while on duty in the evening, the accused approached him and requested the keys to the vehicle with registration number MDR 001, which he stated belonged to the Chief Whip of Parliament. The witness handed over the keys after recording the transaction in the station logbook, where the accused signed and entered his phone number.
According to the witness, the accused left with the vehicle but failed to return it after the New Year. When the Chief Whip later needed the vehicle, it could not be found. Upon checking the logbook, they discovered that the accused had taken the vehicle.
Attempts to contact the accused using the phone number he provided proved unsuccessful, as the number was switched off. The police later received information that the accused was attempting to sell the vehicle.
The witness further testified that they used the agent allegedly involved in the attempted sale to set up an operation. A police team proceeded to Jui, where the accused was arrested at a guest house. The stolen vehicle was recovered from the premises.
The accused was subsequently taken to the Central Police Station, where the matter was formally reported, and he made a statement to the police.
The accused informed the court that he wished for his lawyer to conduct cross-examination at the next hearing.
Magistrate Fornah granted the request and remanded the accused at the male correctional facility in Freetown. The matter was adjourned to 17th February 2026 for further proceedings.