By: Audrey Raymonda John
Fifty-seven-year-old Sahr Gboria and 51-year-old Yealie Koroma have been committed to the High Court for trial on allegations of threatening to kill and using insulting words against Colonel Mohamed Suffian Kargbo.
The defendants face two charges: threatening to kill, contrary to Section 16 of the Offences Against the Person Act of 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, on an unknown date between January 1 and February 5, 2026, at Lumley in Freetown’s Western Area, the defendants allegedly threatened to kill Colonel Kargbo.
The second count alleged that, on the same date and at the same location, the defendants used abusive and insulting words against Colonel Kargbo with the intent to provoke him to commit a breach of the peace.
When the charges were read and explained to the defendants, no plea was taken, as the proceedings were at the committal stage.
During the proceedings, prosecuting Inspector Theresa Ballay led evidence from the prosecution witnesses. Following the presentation of the evidence, defence counsel made a submission of no case to answer, prompting Magistrate Fornah to reserve the matter for a ruling.
In delivering his ruling, Magistrate Fornah considered the defence’s submission and the prosecution’s response, referring to Lord Parker’s Practice Direction on No Case to Answer and the principles established in R v Galbraith (1981) 2 All ER 1060.
The magistrate explained that a no-case submission may succeed where the prosecution has failed to produce evidence of an essential element of the alleged offence, or where its evidence has been so discredited or is so unreliable that no reasonable court could safely convict on it.
He further noted that, under the principles established in R v Galbraith, a case should be stopped where there is no evidence that the defendant committed the alleged offence. Where some evidence exists but is tenuous, the court must assess its reliability and whether it is sufficient to support a conviction.
Magistrate Fornah explained that, because the first count was an indictable offence, the court conducted a preliminary investigation to determine whether the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring the defendants to stand trial.
After reviewing the prosecution’s factual and formal evidence, the exhibits tendered, the defence’s no-case submission and the prosecution’s response, the magistrate ruled that sufficient evidence had been presented to establish a prima facie case against both defendants.
Consequently, he committed Sahr Gboria and Yealie Koroma to the High Court for trial.
The magistrate further ordered that the defendants’ existing bail conditions remain unchanged.