By Janet A. Sesay
Ibrahim Mohamed Kamara was on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, arraigned before the Principal Magistrate of the Freetown Magistrate Court No.1, Magistrate Sahr Kekura on a count of murder.
It was alleged by police that the accused on Saturday, January 21, 2022, in Port Loko District murdered Alpha Sankoh.
Testifying on oath, Detective Police Constable 15299 Momoh Santigie Bangura attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Lunsar Police Station said he recognised the accused in the dock and could recall January 21, 2022.
He said on that day, he was on duty when Amara Kamara, an elder in the community in Port Loko, assisted by Sub Inspector Abu Sama Bangura arrested and brought the accused to the station, adding that they also brought in a blue unregistered TVS motorbike and reported a case of alleged murder.
The witness continued that when the accused was brought to the station, he had bloodstains on his clothes, and complainant Amara Kamara alleged that the accused was the person who had murdered the deceased.
The witness said the alleged incident occurred on Friday, January 21, 2022, around 8:30pm. After receiving the report, he said the accused was detained. Explaining before the court, the witness said early in the morning, the accused confessed to them that he murdered the bike rider at a site he was guarding, stating that the bloodstains on his clothes were a result of him murdering the victim.
Bangura furthered that after the confession, he and a team of police officers from the Lunsar Police Station alongside the accused went to the crime scene and there he observed that some amount of struggling must have happened because they saw broken cassava plants including disturbed footsteps reminiscent of a struggle.
The witness further narrated that at the scene, the accused identified a cutlass which had blood stains and the accused confessed that it was the cutlass he used to decapitate the deceased.
He said the Scene of Crime Officer took photos of the cutlass and retrieved it for safekeeping, adding that the accused also led them to another area where they saw a yellow and white coat with bloodstains he identified as the coat the deceased was wearing.
‘My lord, the accused further led us to Savannah land which had palm trees and there we saw the remains of the deceased as he was lying naked. The Scene of Crime Officer took photos of the deceased,’ the witness said.
The police witness said they observed injuries on the deceased’s chin and head, disclosing that they conveyed the remains to the mortuary before returning to the police station.
Bangura continued that at the station he prepared a search warrant to search the premises of the accused and during the search he discovered a long dagger and kitchen knife in the bedroom. At that point, he added that they returned with the accused and exhibits to the station.
He said on January 23, 2022, he obtained statements from complainant Amara Kamara who reported the matter and statements from some relatives of the deceased including one Fatmata Sankoh who also claimed that the photos they saw on WhatsApp was their relative’s. The witness said they went to the mortuary where they identified the deceased as Alpha Sankoh, alias Designer.
The witness said on January 24, 2022, he and Inspector Sankelekeh obtained voluntary caution statement from the accused by observing the Judges’ Rules. The statement of the accused was produced and tendered in court as “exhibit A1-42” to form part of the prosecution’s case.
Testifying further, the witness said on January 26, 2022, he transferred the case and enquiry file together with the accused to the CID headquarters for further investigation.
The witness was cross examined by defence counsel W.C. Eloba.
The accused was refused bail and was remanded in custody until March 15, 2022.