By Francis H. Murray
The murder trial of the former Mayor of Freetown, Herbert George Williams and the Public Relations Officer of the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) Party in the Western Area, Abu Bakarr Daramy, over the death of Journalist Ibrahim Samura, has continued before Justice Augustine Musa at the High Court in Freetown.
Led in evidence by State Prosecutor Umu Sumaray, the fourth prosecution witness, Patrick Jaiah Kamara, described himself as a journalist attached to the Concord Times Newspaper, and admitted to knowing the deceased as well as the accused persons.
He said he knew the deceased as a colleague journalist, the 1st accused as former Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and the 2nd accused as a former Mayor of Freetown.
The witness recalled the 31st March 2018, when he was moving around with his former editor, Abu Bakarr Sheriff, and one reporter Salieu Koroma to observe voting at Save Our Souls Secondary School on Lumley Road, and suddenly received a call from one of his friends informing him that there was an unrest at Lumley roundabout in front of the police station.
He said that as journalists and election observers in the 2018 polls, himself and his editor felt obliged to go to the scene to inquire about what went wrong.
‘‘When we arrived there initially, I saw people but by then the incident had ended and I inquired about what had been happening because I saw stones everywhere. So we then left for Mafa Field, and while we were going to the field, there was a black Jeep in front of us which led us to the Mafa Field polling center at Regent Road, Lumley. The black Jeep went and stood in front of the polling center which obstructed the voting process. So I began to film the scene and in the process, I heard a voice saying, ‘look am dae video wuna’. So after that voice, a group of people approached me, including Sanusi Buski and the former Mayor. Buski held onto the camera strap whilst the 2nd accused held my hand,’’ he explained.
He went on: ‘I also saw a group of men dressed in black, who beat me up until the camera was removed from me and they also damaged the car we drove in. A colleague by the name of Memunatu Bangura asked me to leave the scene because she said the same people who had beaten me up had also beaten up some other journalists. So we drove to the Lumley Police Station where I was issued a police medical form, which I took to the Connaught Hospital for treatment and later took the endorsed medical report to the police station. Statement was also obtained from me.’’
Kamara also told the court that they later received a letter of apology written by the All Peoples Congress (APC) Western Area Secretary General, addressed to his editor and the editor of the New Age Newspaper, which they replied to.
He added that the matter was charged to Court and after several appearances at the magistrate court, pleas, negotiations and assurances that his camera would be returned, he dropped his own case.
He said the mediation was championed by lawyers of the first accused, which resulted in the purchasing of his camera and recorder.
Under cross-examination by Lawyer Lansana Dumbuya on behalf of the second accused, the witness said the incident which led to the destruction of his camera was separate from the one that occurred at the Lumley roundabout.
He also noted that he was told that he'll testify in respect of a murder matter by the investigating officer who obtained statement from him.
He stressed that he also testified at the Magistrate Court, and a statement obtained from him in respect of the murder matter, after his own matter about his camera had ended at the Magistrate Court. But he said he couldn’t recall when the said statement was obtained from him.
Kamara further noted that he was not a witness to the incident at the Lumley Roundabout, and agreed that the said letter of apology was not written by the 2nd accused.
The matter was adjourned to the 13th October, 2020.
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