By: Audrey Raymonda John
The trial of an accused person Musa Kamara, charged with cyberstalking and cyberbullying resumed in court this week, as prosecution witnesses continued to testify over alleged threatening and abusive messages sent to the complainant via Qcell.
The second prosecution witness, Detective Police Constable (DPC) 17036 Joseph Musa, attached to the Cyber Crime Unit at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, testified before the court. He stated that he resides at No. 4 Nicole Drive, New York, Yams Farm, and confirmed his familiarity with both the complainant, Edward Sesay, and the accused.
DPC Musa recalled that on Saturday, 3rd December 2023, while on duty, the complainant reported receiving threatening and abusive audio and text messages from the accused via Qcell number 031214660, around 1:00 p.m.
He further testified that on 4th December 2023, he and Inspector Paul Aloysious obtained a formal statement from Mr. Sesay. The complainant also submitted screenshots and audio recordings of the messages, which were stored on a pen drive. These were later handed over to Inspector Mohamed Jusu at the Cyber Lab for forensic analysis.
On 25th January 2024, the accused was invited to the CID for further questioning. A voluntary caution statement was taken in Krio and documented in English. According to DPC Musa, the statement was read back to the accused in Krio, after which the accused confirmed its accuracy by affixing his right-hand thumbprint. Both investigating officers signed the statement.
DPC Musa added that on 13th March 2024, a charge statement for the offence of cyberbullying was obtained under caution, following the same procedure. The charge statement was later tendered in court and marked as Exhibit D1–3.
During cross-examination, the accused questioned whether the complainant had provided the audio evidence at the time of reporting. DPC Musa confirmed that the audio was submitted but said he could not recall the specific brand of phone used to record it, only that it had been transferred to a memory stick.
The case was adjourned to 4th June 2025 for further hearing.