By Mohamed Jalloh
Justice Musu Kamara of the Freetown High Court yesterday denied bail to Osman Conteh, who is before him on allegation of incest, contrary to section 10 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act of 2012.
According to the particulars of offence, Osman Conteh, on the 12th day of January 2014 at Waterloo in the Western Area Rural District, engaged in sexual intercourse with his daughter.
The prosecutor, in the matter, State Counsel Y.S. Koroma Esq., asked for adjournment, citing the absence of witnesses required to testify in court.
In the dock, the accused did not have any legal guarantor.
The accused, who is a resident of Krio Town, Tombo, pleaded with the Judge to temper justice with mercy by granting him bail on the grounds that he has been languishing at the Pademba Road prisons for four years six months due to the refusal of witnesses to attend court.
Justice Musu Kamara told the court that she has been reliably informed that the witnesses have changed their original addresses and that she will issue a subpoena for them to appear in court in subsequent hearings.
“It is one of those cases that families abandon because of their disgraceful nature, thereby perverting justice. Other people would want to follow a similar path if action is not taken’’, she noted.
She told the court that when the matter was at the Magistrate court witnesses availed themselves and furnished the court with all the evidence, but as soon as the matter was committed to the High Court witnesses disappeared.
The erudite Judge concluded that due to the terrible nature of the matter, she will use it to set a precedent for would-be offenders, noting that the accused will serve 15 years imprisonment if found guilty.
The matter was adjourned to the 12th June 2018.