December 17, 2021
By Hafsatu Z Bangura
Justice Ivan Ansumana Sesay was displeased at the juror’s verdict having read the testimonies of the prosecution witness and the audio record of the deceased over the incident thus hereby blasting after they delivered an unfair and nonsensical verdict. The first accused person was acquitted and discharge off all charges along with the 7th and 8th accused persons and for count 1 the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, and 10th accused persons were found guilty and sentenced to nine years (9) imprisonment each 4th, 5th, 9th, and 10th accused persons were found guilty on count 3 and asked to pay a fine of 600,000 Leones to be paid now or upon release and sentenced the 3rd accused person to 50 years imprisonment.
Alpha Yayah Kanu, Abdulai Barrie, Foday Sannoh, Gbessay Kamara, John Desmond Koroma, James Sesay, Mohamed Daboh, Amadu Wurie, Mustapha Karim alias Wizzy, Abass Kamara alias Cartel have been wrongly acquitted and discharge of murder and burial of a human being other than a cemetery by a 12 man juror at the High Court No.1 of the High Court of Sierra Leone before Justice Ivan Ansumana Sesay.
All accused persons were present in court and Jurors where admonished by the presiding judge about the gravity of the offence and that their verdict must be of a unanimous decision as to return a verdict of guilty or non-guilty verdicts for all accused persons.
Justice Ivan Ansumana Sesay did a summoning up of the offence of charges and an audio record of the deceased on a USB stick was played in court to jog the memories of the jurors in giving a fair verdict in this order also the Judge stated accordingly each counts defining and explaining the gravity and complexity but understanding and satisfactory of the Jurors of each counts in order to help the jurors in giving fair verdict.
The Judge also warned that the Jurors are not to be of an emotional mindset in giving out their verdict but satisfactorily in that all the elements of the prosecution are proved beyond reasonable doubt as the legal body and standard of proof that the prosecutor has a huge burden to prove his case beyond all reasonable doubt which implies that in the course of analyzing or evaluating the facts and if the jurors are doubtful in evaluating the facts must be resolved in the favor of the accused.
He further that on the element of murder by carefully defining the meaning of Murder of being the unlawful killing of a being with malice aforethought and such death occur within a year and a day. He urged the jurors to consider if there was any death, whether it was unlawful or lawful, whether there was malice aforethought of which could either be expressed or implied away from the conduct and that if such death occurred between a year and a day.
The Judge stressed that the prosecution called several witnesses by way of proving the accused with both formal and informal witnesses.
Alpha Yayah Kanu 1st accused person, Abdulai Barrie 2nd accused, Foday Sannoh 3rd accused person, Gbessay Kamara 4th accused person, John Desmond Koroma 5th Accused Person, James Sesay 6th accused, Mohamed Daboh 7th accused, Amadu Wurie 8th accused, Mustapha Karim alias Wizzy 9th accused, Abass Kamara alias Cartel 10th accused persons are charged on three counts of offence.
On count one the statement of offence states that all accused persons are charged with conspiracy to murder contrary to section 4 of the offences against the person Act 1861 as the particulars of offence reads that Alpha Yayah Kanu and others on the 4th April and on the 5th April at Freetown in the Western Area of the Republic of Sierra Leone conspired together and with other persons unknown to Murder Mohamed Kallon alias Mende Boy.
On count 2 of Murder, the offence states that Alpha Yayah Kanu and nine others on the 4th of April 2020 at Freetown in the Western Area of the Republic of Freetown Murdered Mohamed Kallon alias Mende boy and on count 3 Burying a Human Body in a place other than a cemetery contrary to section 6 (1) (a) of the health Act 1960 Act No.23 of 1960. The particulars of offence reads that all accused persons on the 5th April 2020 at Freetown in the Western Area of the Republic of Sierra Leone buried a human body other than a cemetery.
And on count 3 Burying a Human Body in a place other than a cemetery contrary to section 6 (1) (a) of the health Act of 1960 Act No.23 of 1960. According to the particulars of offence on count 3 states that all accused persons on the 5th April 2020 at Freetown in the Western Area of the Republic of Sierra Leone buried a human body other than a cemetery.
Reading the testimony of the First Prosecution Witness in court (PW1) Tamba Patrick a police officer at the CID Adonkia Police station that OPS instructed him to join a team of police officers to go to the crime of scene at borbor village. He said he met the headman of the community and one of the key witnesses Marcus Kamara (alias Marco) who informed them that a certain Murder had occur of a man named Mohamed Kallon alias Mende boy. He led the officers to a concreted structure owned by the deceased that was damaged by accused persons.
Police prosecution furthermore said that the uncle of the deceased gave him a USB stick from Issa Kamara of which was tendered and played in court for the jurors and in a cross examination said that he originated it from his cellphone and was handed over by the said uncle.
Third Prosecution Witness testimony (PW3) Alex Issa Bangura a fisherman at borbor village said he does not recognize the 1st accused and recalls that on the 5th April the 2nd accused person met him at his place at 22:00hours as there was blood stains all over his body and said that it was the deceased that hit with a stone, he said he tried calming the 2nd accused person and went on that the following day he received a phone call on the 5th April 2020 from Theophilius who told him about the death of the deceased.
“I observed a droplet of blood from where the scene of crime happened to the deceased and followed it and it led to the place where he saw the 2nd accused person and his wife and reminded him that it was he who reported the deceased to him and within three hours the deceased was pronounced dead”.
The headman said as they continued the search for the body of the deceased they found Marco and asked him about the whereabouts of the deceased and he responded at first saying no and later confessed about the incident to him that he was at the bush working on his farm, when he saw the 5th accused and others trying to bury the deceased. Marco as per the statements of Alex Bangura said Marco showed him and the police officers the place where the deceased was buried and upon instructions of the police instructed for the body to be dug up.
Fourth prosecution witness Marcus Kamara at Timbo lane said he knows the accused persons and knows PW3 and the deceased. He said recalled that on the 5th April 2020 there was a dispute between the 2nd accused and advise him to forget about what the deceased had done to him and that at the time he was giving him the advice he was damaging the door of the deceased and that he left because the accused failed to listen to him and on his way coming saw the accused and his wife and also saw the 4th accused and as he called him surprisingly saw the remains of the deceased and that the 5th was with an empty boxers, and asked for the remains of the deceased to be taken to Adonkia Hospital but vehemently refused.
He continued that the 5th accused person had a pick axe and that the 10th, 9th, and 4th accused persons agreed with the 5th accused of him not taking the body anywhere.
The 4th ,5th and 9th accused person said that he should dig to bury the remains of the deceased and he did and said as he was he was shaking and that the 4th accused person assisted him and that the 4th , 5th ,6th , and 10th accused buried the body and warned him not to disclose the issue to anyone.
He continued that he directed the 9th , 5th , and 10th accused persons to the water stream to wash off, he said on his way coming he saw the headman (PW3) and that he asked him if he had seen the deceased and denied at first but later confessed to the incident and led the police to the incident.
Fifth prosecution witness (PW5) testimony was also read by the Judge said he met PW3 at the scene of crime and on his way met the 2nd accused and his wife and confronted them on the issue of the murder of the deceased and that they attempted to leave the scene but instructed them not to.
Sixth Prosecution Witness Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma a Pathologist specialized in Forensic pathology and sciences said that the deceased was 28 years of age and that the death of the deceased was homicidal and not accidental nor suicidal and that the wound was 3cm deep between 3 and 4 ribs and a pointed centi-knife and a hemorrhage shock with acute haemotorastic with blood clot from a stab wound from the upper left part of the body.
The judgment of the jurors were as follows on count they ruled that on count 1 the 1st, 7th, and 8th accused persons were not guilty on conspiracy to murder and on count 2 the 3rd accused was found guilty of murder and all accused persons were not found guilty of murder and on count 3 for burial other than a cemetery the 4th, 5th,9th , and 10th accused were found guilty on count 3.
The state was represented by JS Tucker while the defense counsel for all accused persons was represented by JM Jengo. Presiding judge was Justice Ivan Ansumana Sesay.