By Musa Paul Feika
Magistrate Mark Ngegba of the Pademba Road Court No. 2 has committed the ongoing robbery and housebreaking matter involving 23 year old student, Moses Kamanda, charged with robbery with aggravation and housebreaking contrary to the laws of Sierra Leone, to the High Court for further trial.
In his committal statement Magistrate Mark Ngegba said the evidence adduced to court by the prosecutors, Sub Inspectors A.T. Bangura and Amie Korio, had enough or sufficient evidence against the accused to commit the matter to the High Court for trial.
The matter was committed when the abovementioned prosecutors intimated the bench that they had closed their case for the prosecution.
Though since inception of the matter the accused was not legally represented on both files, it was only during yesterday’s proceedings that lawyer E.S. Musa announced that he would be representing him. He further told the bench that he had just been assigned to the case and therefore sought for an adjournment to enable him to open his case. Responding, Magistrate Ngegba told him that he could not afford to waste time on such cases, and therefore committed them to the High Court for further trial.
Kamanda appeared before the court on five counts of housebreaking contrary to the Larceny Act of 1916. It was alleged by the police that Moses Kamanda on 22 October 2021 at St. Paul’s Seminary, Regent Village, on the outskirts of Freetown, conspired with unknown persons to commit a crime, to wit, housebreaking and larceny.
The charge sheet furthered that the accused, on the same date and address in Freetown, broke into Paul Aiah Komba’s home and stole an iPhone 5 valued at three million, five hundred thousand leones (Le3,500,000), a laptop valued at two million, five hundred thousand leones (Le2,500,000) and other properties totalling fourteen million, eight hundred and forty thousand leones (Le14,840,000).
Count three stated that the accused on the same date and place, broke into Steven Komba Jr’s house and stole an A14 mobile phone, a Google pix cell mobile phone and a cash amount of one million, three hundred thousand leones (Le1,300,000), totalling nine million leones (Le9,000,000), belonging to Joseph Momoh Sesay.
Count five alluded that the accused, at the same place in Regent, broke into Thomas Bangura’s home and stole valuable properties with a total value of eight million leones (Le8,000,000).
During his testimony led in evidence by Sub-Inspector Amie Korio, prosecution witness (PW) 1, Joseph Momoh Sesay told the court that he recognised the accused and could recall 22 October 2021.
He said on that day, he went for prayers within the compound, adding that before leaving, he had closed his door. Mr Sesay said when he returned home from prayers a few hours later, he noticed that his door was damaged, adding that when he proceeded into his bedroom, he also discovered that his room had been ransacked and certain properties, including a laptop, DVD player, mobile phones, men’s Lacoste clothes and other assorted items had been carted away.
On the following day, PW1 said he reported the matter to the Akon Police Station, Mountain Rural Division, noting he and a team of police officers from the aforementioned division visited the crime scene and took photographs of the scene.
He said the police informed him that they arrested the accused with a mobile phone, which he identified as his. Mr Sesay said the phone is currently in the custody of the Akon Police Station, concluding that he made a statement to the police at the aforesaid division.
The second prosecution witness (PW) 2, Joseph Kpaka, led in evidence by Sub-Inspector A.T. Bangura, told the bench that he recognised the accused and could recall the days in question. On one of those fateful days, he noted that he received a call from Rev. Fr. Paul Sandi, who was then in Liberia, instructing him to take two million leones (Le2,000,000) from his drawer to hand over to someone, whose name was not disclosed.
Mr Kpaka said when he entered Rev. Sandi’s room he discovered that the room was in a mess and that the money in question was nowhere to be seen, including a laptop and other properties that he suspected had been carted away.
PW2 detailed the court that he reported the matter to the Hill Top Police Station, Mountain Rural District in Freetown. He said he and a team of police officers from the aforementioned police station visited the crime scene and took photographs. PW2 told the court that the matter was transferred to the Cyber Crime Unit at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters on Pademba Road in Freetown.
‘I was later called to the CID by a police officer, where I was also informed that they had arrested the accused in possession of some of the stolen properties,’ he told the court.
He concluded his evidence stating that he made a statement to the police.