By: Audrey Raymonda John
Twenty-seven-year-old Alhaji Kamara, a Student, made his first appearance before Magistrate Santigie Bangura of Pademba Road Court No.2 in Freetown on a count of Larceny in a dwelling house contrary to section 13 (1) of the Larceny Act 1916.
According to the particulars of the offense on 27th October 2024 at No. 4 Kebe Drive Juba Hill Freetown, the western area in Freetown, with intent to steal, broke into the dwelling house of Alhaji Issa Catco Kamara and stole therein one Z fold mobile phone, two Samsung galaxy A24 mobile phone, one iPhone phone fourteen plus, assorted electronics items and other assorted items equivalent to the total sum of five hundred and sixteen thousand four hundred Leones(516,400) Property of Alhaji Issa Catco Kamara.
No plea was taken when the charge was read and explained to the accused person.
Sergeant 8811 Florence M Wilson led prosecution witness number one, Alhaji Issa Catco Kamara, who resides at 4 Kebe Drive, Juba Hill. A businessman knows the accused person. He is his nephew. He brought him up when he was five years old.
He recalls a transfer between himself and the accused person on the 27th of October 2024.
On the above date, he came from the United States of America around 3:00 a.m. The witness said that before he left, he locked all his doors in the house, placed the keys into his portable safe, and left the spare keys with the accused at home.
The witness said his furniture and his safe was built with concrete with four walls with a heavy metal steel iron rod fixed as a door the witness sad the said door could only be carried by about four men the accused never had the keys to the safe and he never expect any human being ordinarily to break into that safe the witness said the accused and his cousin Abdul Kabia have been responsible for taking care of personal belongings and cleaning his house the accused solely responsible for the area where the safe is the witness said he sent his carpenter to go and check the room where the safe is for possible repair they came and told him that the room appeared to have been tempered with he went up to the room and found the entire room scattered and vandalised the witness said upon that he sent for the accused when he came he said it could not have been possible for a single person to came broken into the same room, the safe was damaged and they found a tissue by it the sum of five thousand united States dollars contained therein was carried away the safe was intact when he left many other properties were missing from the house he then called and reported the matter to police came and took photographs of the scene he later made statement to the police he conclude.
The accused was not legally represented, and he cross-examined the witness.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Bangura refused bail and sent the accused person to the male correctional facility in Freetown. The matter was adjourned to the 26th of November 2024.