By Musa Paul Feika
One Hannah Kamara has made her second appearance before Magistrate Alhaji Suliaman Koroma, of the Ross Road Magistrate Court No. 1, for allegedly causing serious injuries to two (2) year old Jonathan Cole, when she placed him inside hot water.
This incident occurred on 13th June, 2020, at Old Wharf, Wellington in Freetown.
Testifying before the court, the mother, Kattay Sesay, told the court that she recognized the defendant as her neighbour and recalled the 13th June, 2020. The witness said, on that fateful day, she left Jonathan Cole with his grandmother at the above address, Wellington in Freetown.
“Later, I received a telephone call from the grandmother of Jonathan Cole, intimating me that the defendant had placed him in hot water leaving him with serious injuries,” she told the court.
The witness recounted that she left for home, adding that, upon her arrival, the grandmother told her that the defendant had begged her to release her grandson to play with her own child in their apartment, which she did because they are neighbours.
“Within five seconds, I heard the defendant screaming that her own child had pushed my child into hot water,” the respondent narrated to the court.
The witness said herself and her mother initially took Jonathan Cole to the Rokupa Government Hospital in Wellington in Freetown. But she said, due to the seriousness of the injuries, they were later transferred to the Connaught Hospital for better medical treatment.
“Since then the offender has done absolutely nothing over the health of my child. In fact, we had to quit the said premises due to a lot of provocation from the defendant’s relatives,” the mother of the victim told the bench.
Having listened to the evidence of the witness, the presiding magistrate ordered the female police officers to take the defendant to lockup.
The defendant is arraigned before the court on one count of child cruelty, an offence which is contrary to the laws of Sierra Leone. She was sent on remand at the Female Correctional Centre, Pademba Road in Freetown. The adjourned date of the matter was not publicly pronounced by the sitting magistrate.