By: Audrey Raymonda John
Mohamed Lamin Mansaray, a technician, has made his first appearance before Magistrate Mary Julia Gbloh at Pademba Road Magistrate Court No. 5 in Freetown on three counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, trespass contrary to Section 15(1) of the Public Order Act No. 46 of 1965, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to Section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
According to the particulars of offence, the defendant allegedly conspired with other persons unknown on 1 May 2026 at Gloucester Saddle to trespass onto state land belonging to the Government of Sierra Leone.
Count two further alleged that Mansaray unlawfully entered the said state land at Gloucester Saddle.
Count three stated that the defendant allegedly assaulted Osman Papani Thullah in a manner that caused him actual bodily harm.
State Prosecutor ACP Joan M.S. Bull opened the prosecution’s case and led Prosecution Witness Number One, Police Inspector Tamba Kassegba, attached to the CID Headquarters.
The witness testified that he recognized the defendant and recalled that on 1 May 2026, at about 5:30 p.m., while on duty, the Head of CID, ACP Alie Jalloh, instructed him to accompany Ministry of Lands official Tamba Dauda in response to a report concerning an alleged attack on staff of the Ministry of Lands and some beneficiaries at Gloucester Saddle.
Inspector Kassegba further stated that he took along two OSD officers and joined Tamba Dauda’s vehicle, where other operational team members were waiting. Upon arrival at the scene, Alex M. Bureh, a surveyor attached to the Ministry of Lands, identified the defendant as one of the alleged trespassers on the state land.
The witness said he approached the defendant, identified himself, and informed him of the reasons for his arrest. According to him, the defendant initially resisted arrest, but with the assistance of the OSD officers and Osman Papani Thullah, the alleged victim, the defendant was arrested and taken to CID Headquarters, where a statement was obtained from him.
In continuation of the hearing, Prosecution Witness Number Two, Alex M. Bureh, a surveyor attached to the Ministry of Lands, testified that he recognized the defendant and recalled that on the same date he was engaged in an operation to investigate state land allegedly being occupied illegally.
He stated that he visited the area to serve invitation letters to several occupants, including the defendant, as interested parties connected to the land dispute. The invitation letter served on the defendant was produced and tendered in court as Exhibit A, while additional invitation letters served on other occupants were tendered as Exhibits Z1 to Z25.
Bureh further testified that the land in question had been identified as government property and that many occupants were regarded as trespassers who had been instructed to provide documents for verification and possible registration with the Ministry of Lands.
He also informed the court that he later received a call from the Director of Surveys instructing him to leave the area because one of his colleagues had allegedly been attacked. According to him, he later went to the police station and subsequently returned to the scene, where he identified the defendant while other suspects reportedly fled.
The defendant, who was not legally represented, cross-examined the witnesses to prove his innocence.
At the close of proceedings, State Prosecutor ACP Bull applied for a short adjournment to enable Prosecution Witness Number Three to testify.
Magistrate Mary Julia Gbloh adjourned the matter to 14 May 2026 for further hearing and ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Male Correctional Centre in Freetown.