By Abass Jalloh
Magistrate Isata Susan Sellu-Tucker of Pademba Road Court No. 2 in Freetown has remanded Saidu Deen alias ‘Prezo’ and Foday Bangura alias ‘Block Street’ for allegedly stealing a gold/diamond necklace valued $ 3,500 [three thousand five hundred Dollars”, property of Samba Kamara.
The two accused - Deen, 28, and Bangura, 27 - were charged with Conspiracy.
Court records show that on Thursday 13th October 2022 at the front view of the Sunny Side Restaurant and Bar along Lumley Beach Road, Aberdeen, Freetown, the two men conspired together and with other persons unknown and commited a crime.
Upon their arraignment on Monday October 31, the accused pleaded not guilty.
In his testimony, the complainant, Kamara, an Online student who said he resides at Cockle Bay Road at Aberdeen, told the court that he only came to know the two men in the matter.
Kamara recounted that on the stated date he was at Aberdeen at around 12 midnight with his wife having a good time when one Ibrahim Kamara, who was not present in court, approached and asked him if he was a business man and answered in the negative. The complainant said he decided to ignore him, bought drinks and found somewhere to sit together with his wife.
According to Kamara, at some point while he and his wife were dancing, Ibrahim later came around and held his wife. They started an argument and in the process Ibrahim held on to the necklace he was wearing, he explained, adding that Ibrahim and the first accused Deen, who later joined in the scuffle, also grabbed his necklace. He said the altercation continued until people came around them, during which the men fled the scene.
After unsuccessfully looking for them, Kamara said he they made a report at the Aberdeen Police Station where he was given a medical report which he took to the Lumley Hospital.
The complainant told the court that later the first accused traced him to tell him that they had got someone who had his necklace, adding that the first accused confessed at the police station that he was the one who took the necklace and gave it to the second accused Bangura. He claimed when they found Bangura he admitted that the first accused indeed gave it to him.
The complainant further said that after the suspects at the time were being detained, they tried to convince the officers that they would not be able to provide the actual necklace but would rather provide another one but he told them that he only wanted his actual necklace.
Under cross-examination, the first accused, who told the court that he knew the complainant and would normally wash his car, asked the complainant as to whether or not he was around during the incident, and he said he was around while the incident was going on.
The defense lawyer for the second accused, Lawyer Saidu Bangura, asked the complainant whether the second accused was at the scene. The complainant said he was not around.
At this juncture, Lawyer Bangura applied for bail for the second accused, saying he would flee, and would not interfere with witnesses. He added that there is no affidavit opposing the bail.
However, the Prosecutor, S. I. Bona, expressed reservations due to what he said is the seriousness of the matter. The matter cones up again tomorrow 3rd November 2022.
Copyright (c) 2022 Politico Onlin3 (02/11/22)
