By: Audrey Raymonda John
A police investigator attached to the Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters in Freetown has testified in a case involving Sahr Gborna and Yalie Koroma, who are facing charges of threatening to kill and Insulting Conduct.
The accused persons are before the court on two counts: threatening to kill, contrary to Section 16 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, and Insulting Conduct, contrary to Section 3(1) of the Public Order Act No. 46 of 1965.
According to the particulars of the offence, the accused persons, on a date unknown between 1 January and 5 February 2026, at Lumley in Freetown, allegedly threatened to kill Colonel Mohamed Sufian Kargbo.
The prosecution further alleged that the accused persons used obscene, abusive and insulting words against the complainant with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.
Testifying as Prosecution Witness Three (P.W.3), Detective Inspector Borbor Foday told the court that he recognized the complainant and both accused persons.
He said that on 5 February 2026, while he was at Seid Police Station, the complainant reported the alleged offences against the accused persons.
The witness said he obtained a statement from the complainant on the same day, which was subsequently tendered in evidence and marked as Exhibit A1-2.
P.W.3 further testified that on 14 February 2026, he obtained statements from two witnesses, including Hajah Isata Kargbo, which were tendered in court as Exhibit C1-2.
He added that on 17 February 2026, he obtained another witness statement from Mohamed Januwa, which was tendered as Exhibit D1-2.
According to the investigator, on 21 April 2026, he and Detective Sergeant 9785 Kamara A.J. obtained separate caution statements from both accused persons.
He told the court that the accused persons were cautioned and questioned in Krio, while their responses were recorded in English.
P.W.3 said that after the interviews, he read and explained the statements to the accused persons in Krio. He testified that both accused persons admitted the statements to be true and correct by affixing their right thumbprints, which were witnessed by D. Sgt. 9785 Kamara A.J.
The witness said he also signed the statements as the recorder. The caution statements were subsequently tendered in evidence as Exhibit E1-4 and Exhibit F1-3.
P.W.3 further testified that on 21 May 2026, he and Detective Inspector Kamara A.J. charged both accused persons with the offences of threatening to kill and Insulting Conduct.
During cross-examination by the defence, P.W.3 told the court that he had served as a police investigator for more than ten years.
He explained that his duties include receiving complaints from members of the public, investigating cases, obtaining statements from witnesses and suspects, visiting crime scenes, charging matters to court and giving evidence in court.
The witness admitted that although the matter was reported on 5 February 2026, he did not visit the alleged crime scene on that day.
He said he later visited the crime scene at Lumley but could not recall the exact address.
P.W.3 also admitted that he was not an eyewitness to the alleged incident but maintained that he was conversant with the facts of the matter.
He denied misleading the court and said he had never served as a witness for both parties in any court proceeding.
There were no further questions from the defence, and the prosecution did not conduct any re-examination.
The matter was subsequently adjourned following the absence of P.W.4, another prosecution witness.
The court ordered that a subpoena be served on the absent witness to compel his appearance.
The case was further adjourned to 26 August 2026 for the appearance of P.W.4 and continuation of the prosecution’s case.