By: Mohamed Sahr
Convicted person Moses Adu on Thursday 6th July 2023 appeared before Justice Komba Kamanda of the High Court of Sierra Leone for sexually penetrating an under aged girl.
Justice Komba Kamanda read the verdict from start to finish. After being suspected of sexually penetrating a girl that was believed to be an underage, the convicted person Moses Adu had this to say ‘‘I am innocent.” He said. Adu called for divine intervention as he was sentenced to ten years in prison after being found guilty.
Justice Kamanda offered him the opportunity to make his final comments.
The convict was in court to answer for one count charge of sexual penetration contrary to law.
Justice Kamanda read the charge and testimonies of the prosecution witnesses among which was the victim who earlier stated that her grandmother left her home when she heard a knock and the accused now convicted person who was a security in the neighbourhood at Hamilton pushed the door, grabbed her and tore her pant, held her mouth and sexually assaulted her the first time and threatened to kill her if she tells anyone.
She furthered that the convict took her to a bush with his bike while she was going to school and sexually assaulted her again.
Justice Kamanda continued with the testimonies that the grandmother of the victim also said she knew the convict as a security in the her neighbourhood and that on that very day, she had gone to the market when she remembered that she had left her mobile phone home and she rushed home and saw someone running out of her house so she ran in and met the victim washing and asked why she was washing twice that day and that she loosed her wrapper and saw blood and a substance which looked like semen and she shouted. She said people came and they asked the victim to tell who had sexually assaulted her, but the victim refused at first and later told that it was the convict who sexually assaulted her.
It was stated in the testimony of the police that the convict ran away for almost six months and was arrested at 12 midnight while riding motorbike at 12 midnight.
Before Justice Kamanda gave his ruling, he said the fact that the convict ran away for six months saying he went to do ritual rites for his mother and upon his return he changed his job as security to a bike rider at night showed that the convict wanted to hide his identity and cover-up for the crime. Justice Kamanda added that the convict did not at any time go to the police in order to clear his name after being accused of sexual penetration but instead went to perform ritual for his mother.
In his ruling, Justice Komba Kamanda declared Moses Adu guilty of the sexual penetration and asked the prosecution led by State Counsel Y. I. Sesay Esq what the prosecution wants. The prosecution asked the judge to slam 15 years jail term on the convict. Justice Kamanda in the end sent the convict to 10 years in prison because he was a first time offender.