By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Justice Samuel Omodele Taylor has refused a bail application made by Amadu Koroma, counsel representing Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray after the State Prosecutor, Umu Sumaray filed an affidavit in opposition to bail.
“The court is constrained to consider bail at all,” Justice Taylor said.
The proceedings occurred on Thursday 12th August 2021 at the Sexual Offences Model Court in Freetown.
In the previous sitting, a legal argument ensued between the prosecutor and counsel for Kamarainba when the latter had applied for bail for his client. Sumaray, the prosecutor had objected to the said application by promising to serve the court and defence counsel an affidavit in opposition to bail.
Sumaray told the court yesterday evening that she relied on the entirety of the said affidavit dated the 12th August 2021 –the same day the court sat on the matter. The State prosecutor specifically hinged her opposition on paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the said affidavit.
Koroma, having agreed that the state had served him their affidavit in opposition as promised, submitted to the bench that the basis on which the state relied in their opposition to bail was not strong enough. He also argued that the state had not made any strong case in the said affidavit for the bench not to grant bail. He drew attention to the reasons adduced in the affidavit which include fears that the accused might jump bail, pointing that the matter is of serious nature that warrants life imprisonment if found guilty and that the same judge had ruled that Kamarainba has a case to answer for the said crime, all of which he said lacked factuality.
Kamarainba is on trial together with one Marion Arouni on allegations bordering on sexual penetration of a secondary school girl sometime in 2020.
Meanwhile, in the same proceeding, the defence led in 2 witnesses to testify for the first accused, Kamarainba.
Alima Sia Nyademoquee, a caretaker at the John Kelly Street construction site that belongs to the first accused was led in evidence by the defence. Nyademoquee told the court that she knew the alleged victim in this matter. She, however, denied that she saw Kamarainba with the girl at the said building site as alleged by the victim in her testimony. She also told the court that workers dwelled in the said site.
The second witness for this proceeding was a 16 year old pupil Khadijatu Musa Kamara. She told the court that the first accused had been rendering help to her with regards her education since she passed her Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). She added that Kamarainba had been rendering pieces of advice to her in line with her education. She said that the first accused had never made intimate advances to her.
At the near end of the trial, Abdul Rahim Sow representing the second accused requested for some time for him to address the court. However, the judge denied his request on the basis of time. The judge said that he was acting in tandem with regulations of the Correctional Service who had complained of the time the matter ended in the previous sitting that went well past 8pm.
Justice Taylor adjourned the matter for Monday 16th August 2021, two days to the day the court case first started in August last year.
Copyright © Politico Online (13/08/21)
