By Francis H. Murray
An eleven-member jury has unanimously returned a “not guilty” verdict in a two-count charge of conspiracy to commit murder and murder as laid in the indictment against six members of the Klymax Club of Fourah Bay College.
All six accused persons – Francis Mafinda, Dennis Holland, Lawrence Lahai Amara, Abassie Sesay, Mukeh Foh and David Williams – were standing trial before Justice Ivan Ansumana Sesay of the high court in Freetown.
In his summing-up address to the jurors, Justice Sesay urged them not to attach emotions in reaching a verdict and to ensure they had not been left in any doubt in respect of the matter, referring to them as “judges of facts”.
While addressing the jurors, State prosecutor Joseph Sesay said the burden of proof rested on the prosecution to establish that the accused persons did something in furtherance of the agreement to commit the said offense. He said the prosecution must also prove that the accused persons had the intention to commit the offenses for which they were charged.
Lawyer Sesay alluded to the testimony of the consultant pathologist Mohamed Mbayoh (PW1) before the court, who established that the deceased, Albert Madison Bio did not die of any natural causes.
He referenced the testimony of another pathologist, Dr. Owis Koroma, who said that Bio died as a result of manual strangulation and that three of the bones in his spinal cord were damaged.
In his address to the jurors, Lawyer Mohamed Sahid Bangura representing the 1st accused Francis Mafinda, said that his client had denied all murder allegations put to him at the time he made his statement to the police. He added that the prosecution had failed during the course of the trial to bring any witnesses his client to the death, or his participated in the initiation process at Gloucester, outside Freetown.
Lawyer for all the other accused persons Augustine Marrah said that with the exception of the 2nd accused, all the others had denied being part of the initiation ceremony at Gloucester, adding that the 2nd accused said he didn’t notice any of his co-accused during the ceremony.
All six accused persons had pleaded “not guilty” in court and had denied both allegations when they were first put to them by the police.
The police had alleged that the accused persons between 13 and 14 July 2018 at Gloucester, conspired with other persons unknown to murder one Albert Madison Bio during an initiation ceremony of members of the Klymax Social Club at Fourah Bay College.
During the course of the trial which started since 2018, the prosecution presented 10 witnesses to support their case.
In his defense, the 2nd accused testified from the witness box while the other accused persons relied on their statements made to the police.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
