By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Justice Momoh-Jah Stevens has ordered both State and Defence counsels in an incest matter to file their written submissions on a matter that involves a 56-year-old father, Mohamed Conteh and his 17-year-old daughter.
The State Prosecutor, Musa Pious Sesay led two witnesses including the alleged victim and the Police investigator.
The 17-year-old secondary school pupil testified that his father started abusing her while they were living at Juba Hills in Freetown. The girl said that the father used to write on a piece of paper ‘BE READY FOR ME’.
She also told the judge that it was while in Lungi where she was taken for spiritual healing that the father first penetrated her. She said that occurred after he had first abandoned and neglected her.
She said Conteh also penetrated her several times while they were living together in a hotel in Kambia, which eventually led to her being pregnant. She said that the father attempted to give her certain syrup after he found out she was pregnant.
She told the judge that when she refused to take the syrup the father beat her mercilessly and that it was on that day that she was taken to the hospital and her father arrested by the Police.
The second prosecution witness, Detective Sergeant 9775 Alhassan Teddy Turay attached to the Family Support Unit (FSU) of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters in Freetown, said he was part of a team of officers that visited the two alleged crime scenes in Lungi and Kambia.
The detective said it was during their visit to the Kambia crime scene that they discovered pants that belonged to the girl.
The defence counsel, Claudius Campbell also led two witnesses including the father and his other daughter in evidence.
The father, in his testimony, denied the allegations levied against him.
He went further to say that the girl is not her biological daughter but rather a child of his ex-lover. He said he only came to know of the victim when her mother dropped her when she was a baby in his living room very early in the morning.
He said that the said mother of the 17-year-old alleged victim was his ex-lover and had told him the reason for her action was to get back on him because he abandoned her for another woman.
The 56-year-old father told the judge that the girl was carrying another surname until age 9.
The second defence witness, Mariama Edwina Conteh told the judge that the allegations against her father were a plot hatched by the alleged victim and her mother.
She said that this information was given to her by the said victim herself who used to confide in her. She said the 17-year-old told her that she intends to either kill or publicly disgrace the accused.
She also said that the girl is a foster sister adopted by her father.
Justice Stevens ordered for both counsels to make written submissions to him by the next adjourned dateof Wednesday 10th November this year.
Copyright © Politico Online (08/11/21)
