May 26, 2021
By: Francis F.M.Harding
Nine accused persons have made their third appearance in Magistrate Court No.1 at Pademba Road in Freetown before Magistrate Sahr Keikura on the 25th May, 2021. Nine workers who have been working for the Semen Construction Company Limited have been sent back at the Male Correctional Center at Pademba Road in Freetown. The accused persons were charged on two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, to wit, Larceny contrary to Law, and a larceny charge contrary to section 2 of the Larceny Act of 1916.
According to the police charged sheets they were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, to wit, Larceny contrary to Law, and a larceny charge contrary to section 2 of the Larceny Act of 1916. The accused persons between 1st January, 2019 and 15th April, 2021, in Port Loko district in the Northern part of Sierra Leone steal plethora of items, including the Company vehicles, air conditioners, generators, tires, among others, all of which are property of Semen Ghana Construction Company, whiles they were in the possession of one Michael Mainoo, and all items worth over four billion Leones.
A Ghanaian Engineer and also the Manager of the Semen Construction Company Limited, Michael Mainoo was in court as First Prosecution Witness (PW1) to testify he said he recognized the nine accused persons and accused persons two to nine are security personnel for the company.
Witness said their company had a contract to build roads in Port Loko, Lungi and Kambia and after the end of the contract the company didn’t have any other contract, so the company decided to park all their equipment’s in the Mechanical Services Unit (MSU) compound. The witness continued that the machines were left in the care of the second to the nine accused persons as security guards in the said compound. PW1 said since there was no job he returned to Ghana to stay with his family. Witness said sometime in January, 2021, he received a text message from one Mohamed Bah who in respect of renting of one bulldozer of the said company. His response was that he was not interested in renting any of the equipment’s. He said in February, 2021 he received a phone call from Sierra Leone that some of the company’s equipment’s was being taken out of the compound without his consent.
Witness said he called Momoh Conteh his personal driver in Sierra Leone, and asked him to check the compound to ascertain if what he head was true, and it was confirmed that the aforementioned bulldozer was not in the compound. The witness said that he later learnt that the said machine was in Kambia and was also confirmed by his driver.
Mr. Mainoo said he contacted a friend who was working at the Gento Construction Company to intervene. He said it took two weeks before the machines were taken back. He said that a day after the machine got to the MSU compound in Port Loko, he received another phone call from Sierra Leone, and he was told that the caterpillar was also missing. The witness said he immediately left for Sierra Leone on the 11th April, 2021.
On arrival, he decided to visit the two sites and on his way he received a phone call from the ninth accused person who told him he was on night duty when he saw a truck entering the compound. He said four of the accused persons were on duty, but when they saw the trucks they ran into the bush to seek shelter.
Witness revealed that on that night he learnt that 900 KVA Generator’s valued at over $300,000 USD; equivalent to over three billion one hundred and fifty million Leones had been stolen. PW1 said that he later retrieved some of the items and reported the matter to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The CID officers arrested the second to the ninth accused persons in Port Loko.
The witness said he and the fourth accused person went to Bumbuna where the caterpillar machine was discovered and is currently in custody of the police. The fourth accused person told me that he rented the caterpillar to the first accused person, narrated the witness.
Under cross examination, defense Counsel for the first accused person M. Mansaray asked the witness if he has renewed his license for 2020. Witness said no. Defense Counsel asked the witness if he has renewed his company license for 2021. He said no my lord. Defense Counsel asked if the witness make this clear to the police when he was reporting the matter that he has not register his company for 2020 and 2021. He said no my lord.
The rest of the accused persons represented themselves by asking questions to the witness. Inspector I.G.Fofanah representing the State, while Lawyer M. Mansaray representing the first accused person. The matter has been adjourned to the 29th May, 2021.
