A 34-year old convict, Gibrilla Sesay of New site Campbell town Waterloo, has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to killing his childhood best friend, David Kamara over a woman.
Before his guilty plea and sentencing at High Court No.1 in Freetown On Tuesday 5th September 2023, State Prosecutor, Solomon Christian Kekurah had applied for amendment of the indictment from murder to manslaughter.
His confession was followed by a unanimous verdict of guilty by the 11 man jury. In his address, the prosecutor told the court that the deceased was a commercial bike rider and a childhood best friend to the convict.
Moreso, he informed the court that the deceased used to give the bike to the accused to ride for him to survive what they commonly termed “Laefay”.
At the early morning hours of 7th February, 2022, the accused conspired together with someone else and hired the service of the deceased to take them to Benguema, but that rather took him to a far destination called Monkey Bush, outside Waterloo, where the convict slit his friend’s throat.
The bike was covered with blood and the convict reportedly gave it to someone else for safe keeping, after he had thrown the body of the deceased into the bush.
The Legal Aid Board Defence Lawyer, Ibrahim Bangura pleaded for mercy noting that the action was done out of jealousy. He also pointed out that the accused has three kids that are currently attending school at Waterloo. He also informed the court that the accused was beaten up seriously by a mob before he was handed over to the police.
While also pleading for mercy, the convict told the bench that he killed the deceased because the deceased took his girlfriend after he had introduced her to the deceased as a friend.
According to the convict, he had once caught the two red-handed in intimacy and decided to part ways with the girlfriend.
After they put aside their differences and reunited as friends, he claimed the deceased started taunting him which enraged him to the point of plotting to kill him.
Justice fisher told the convict he does not have a spirit for women or else he could still have found another after losing the girlfriend.
He added that the convict was not fit to be in society because would eventually kill again. He told the convict the deceased had no children but as a father of three, he might not be around to witness the weddings of his children.
On Monday 4th September a day before judgment was passed now retired Chief Inspector of Police, Ibrahim Alimamy Kamara, then attached to the Criminal Investigation Department of the waterloo Police Station who was led in evidence by State Lawyer; Solomon Christian Kekukah said he was on duty on 7th February 2022 when a brother of the deceased, Josiah Kamara reported that someone had murdered the deceased.
He told Justice Adrian Fisher on Monday September 4 2023 that the case was assigned to him and he led a team of police officers to the crime of scene, where they discovered a “motionless man on the ground in a bush with a deep cut on his throat and back of the neck with blood oozing profusely.”
According to him, the crime scene police officer took photographs of the scene before the body was conveyed to Connaught hospital where a post-mortem was conducted on the remains of the deceased.
The witness said in the evening of the same day they received information relating to one Alfred Abu Koroma regarding the incident, upon which he also led a team of police officers to Koroma’s residence at Monkey Bush Waterloo. He said they searched Koroma’s house and discovered a TVS motorbike, believed to be the one the deceased was riding when he was attacked and killed.
According to him, the suspect and the exhibit were taken to the police station for investigation and that while obtaining a statement from him, the suspect told police about the accused and that the following day, 8th February they arrested the accused at Freetown Park in Waterloo and obtained a statement from him.
Defence Lawyer from the Legal Aid Board, Ibrahim Bangura informed the court that the accused was beaten up and that one of his teeth was removed. He also told the court that his client was forced by the police to agree with the version of the statement made by the complainant.
At this point Justice Fisher said the allegations made against the police should be investigated.
He urged the jurors to note that as a prosecution they have to prove that the deceased was murdered, the accused was sane at the time of the incident and that the act was committed by the accused. He said they should be convinced that the accused had the intention of committing the act when passing the verdict of guilty.
He however pointed out that if they (jurors) have any iota of doubt, they should return a verdict of not guilty.
Sesay will serve his sentence at the Male Correctional Centre in Freetown.
