September 24, 2021
By: Francis F.M. Harding
Appeal Court Judge, Justice Monfred Sesay, has on the 22nd September, 2021 sentenced one Ibrahim Kamara, a form three pupil of Government Technical Secondary School to seven years for stabbing to death his cousin.
The convict was before the court on one count indictment of unlawful killing contrary to law.
After spending six years at the Male Correctional Center, convict Ibrahim Kamara pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawfully killing.
While addressing the bench on what transpired between the convict and the deceased the State Prosecutor Joseph A.K. Sesay said they were playing a game called bird dark he said during the cause of that game the convict threatened the deceased to stab him immediately after the deceased grab the convict and took him to his father to make report, the father pleaded with the deceased to release his son.
While the deceased was explaining to the father of the convict, the convict went into their kitchen and took a knife and stabbed the deceased on his upper chest and he was rushed to the hospital where he subsequently died the same day.
In his submission, the State Prosecutor made an application for an amendment to the indictment by the substituting the offense of manslaughter to that of murder appearing on the statement of offense and on the particulars of offense by dilution of the word murder to be replaced by unlawfully killed.
He made this application pursuant to section 148(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1965 Act No. 33 of 1965. He submitted that no injustice will be caused to the convict if this application is granted as the amendment sort is seeking to reduce the offense to a much more lesser offense of manslaughter and secondly this application appeared before his lordship on the 26th September, 2016 about five years and that the court was not properly constituted; having only ten jurors.
When the court registrar read the amended charge to the convict he pleaded guilty.
In his plea mitigation he asked for mercy as he felt regret because of action against his cousin, now deceased.
Defense Counsel Komba Kanu pleaded on behalf of his client and said that the burden of the case has been reduced.
Justice Monfred Sesay said having listened to the convict himself and that of the defense counsel, Komba Kanu Esq and considering the fact that the convict is not only the first time offender but he has pleaded guilty to the amendment charge and considering further that the convict has been on remand for six years he hereby sentence the convict Ibrahim Kamara to imprisonment to seven years considering the time already spent in remand since 2nd March, 2015; which was recorded as the date of his first arrest and detention.