By: Mohamed Sahr
Accused Person Osman Kamara who was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent contrary to Section 18 of the Offences Against the Persons Act of 1861, appeared before Justice Adrian Fisher of the High Court of Sierra Leone in Freetown on Wednesday 7th June 2023.
The particulars of the offence stated that on the 23rd day of December 2021 in the Western Area of the Republic of Sierra Leone, allegedly caused grievous bodily harm to Mohamed Tarawalie with intent.
Considerably, when testifying in court, Martha Thoronka who stood in the witness box in the interest of the accused person explained that she only met the victim otherwise complainant Mohamed Tarawalie on the 23rd December 2021 during a ‘’Tangains’’ festival that was held at National Stadium where he showed interest of loving her.
The witness furthered that as the festival got high moment, the victim told her told that he wanted to visit her house. She said she warned the victim that her grandmother whom she was staying with prohibits male visitors. She said both of them later left for her said grandmother’s house and eventually the complainant told her that he wanted to have sex with her.
Gradually, she told the court that Mohamed Tarawalie was forced to make love to her but she resisted and that sparked up a bitter debate which led residents to wake up and noticed them.
The witness said the door was closed the moment they entered the room. However, the unsolved arguments between both sides invoked the attention of her brother Osman Kamara who was the accused person. The arrival of her brother at the scene led the complainant Mohamed Tarawalie to run off with his trousers in his hand which led him to have a broken foot in the morning hours of 24th December 2021.
For being sympathetic, Martha Thoronka took Mohamed Tarawalie the victim to a native doctor where they took six months. She advised him to go and do an X-ray at Masagbah in Magboroka which she paid his bills. She informed the court that it was only after six months that the victim eventually reported the matter to the police alleging that he was chased by the accused person and inflicted bodily harm on him. She noted that the victim requested both the witness Martha Thoronka and her brother Osman Kamara the accused person to buy for him a taxi or ‘’Keke’’ as compensation if not the accused person would be taken to court.
Prosecuting Witness Detective Inspector Zainab Sankoh when cross-examined by Defence Counsel I.S Bangura Esq, testified that according to their mandate, a medical report should only be issued on behalf of the victim in a case where the victim could not afford to make a way to the police as a result of bodily harm so to speak. She continued that after the medical report and the X-ray examination, she took a voluntary statement from the accused person.
Justice Adrian Fisher told the State Counsel Solomon Christian Kekurah of the inconsistency in the matter, therefore, he granted bail to the accused person with two sureties of five million Leones each. The matter was adjourned on 14th June 2023.