By Janet A. Sesay
Captain Milton Sam Bangura, Morlai Bai Sheburah Kamara, Alimammy Kamara, Saccoh Kamara and Mathew Sorie Kamara have been remanded for the second time for operating a private security service without valid license.
The remand order was issued, last Monday, by a magistrate court in Freetown presided over by Mark Ngebga. The accused were arraigned on two counts of conspiracy and unlawfully operating a private security service.
The charge sheet indicated that the accused on Wednesday 7th June, 2023 at Freetown Ferry terminal conspired with others to commit a crime. In continuation of his previous testimony, police witness, Inspector Mohamed Jusu took the stand after the matter was called.
He started off his testimony during yesterday’s proceedings by playing voice messages of the accused in court via bluetooth set. The voice messages indicated that the accused were setting up a team to protect, opposition All People’s Congress (APC)’s leader, Samura Kamara.
The audios also indicated that they would protect the APC leader using civilians as a back up. “We need a team for Samura Kamara that will make SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) panic and if the reckless commissioner announces results that did not reflect the will of the people, we will not take it lightly,” the accused persons threatened adding that they would like to stop such “madness” in Sierra Leone.
In the audios, they further threatened that they should not allow SLPP to penetrate PortLoko and Kambia since they are strongholds and that they were ready to hit police officers. Although the voice messages were implicating, they were objected to by defence counsel, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara on the grounds that they were uncertain and unclear.
The source of extraction, Counsel Kamara submitted, should be identified by the witness for the benefit of the defence. In response to the objection, the prosecutor said the defence ought to have waited before objecting as they did not want to tender the audios, but wanted the witness to show the source of the audios.
Defence counsel’s objection was however overruled by the presiding magistrate having heard submissions from the two sides. The testimony continued with the witness narrating that the first set of audios played were retrieved from the cell phone of the first accused in a WhatsApp group called Expandable SL.
The message which he screenshoted was also retrieved from the first accused’s phone by an Orange number saved as COLT. The sticks containing the audios were subsequently tendered in evidence to aid the prosecution’s case.
The witness also testified that on 17th July, 2023, he received a correspondence and two mobile phones: Samsung Galaxy and iPhone-13 pro-max from Superintendent Alusine Dumbuya, operations officer at CID (Criminal Investigations Department) Headquarters.
Upon receipt of the phone as well as other information, witness went on, he wrote a comprehensive report which was also tendered in evidence. Counsel Kamara however submitted that the defence should be served with copies of the screenshot materials so that they could go through them.
During cross examination by Counsel Kamara, witness said the audios were retrieved from the phone of the first accused and extracted from a group called EPANDABLE SL. The witness also confirmed that the forum had over 150 participants and that the name, EXPANDABLE was under the APC logo.
The witness said the first audio message was based on the arrest of Retired captain Marrah’s vehicle which came from the first accused’s phone. As the cross examination continued, Kamara challenged the witness that he was not a voice expert, a question which witness replied in the affirmative adding that the audio messages were based on APC’S security.
The defence further made it clear that the police charged the accused persons because they were APC members, but witness responded that the weight of evidence led to the charge.
At this point, cross examination was deferred, and defence counsel renewed his application for bail arguing that such treatment to ex-servicemen was not appropriate. Bail was refused and the matter comes up on 28 September.