By Francis H. Murray
A man accused of murdering his father-in-law over jealousy has made another appearance before Justice Monfred Sesay of High Court No 2 after been held in jail for over 18 months.
Foday Jusu Yambasu is accused of murdering Sorie Kamara, the father of his wife, with a cutlass. The incident, according to court testimonies, followed a bitter row between husband and wife, Fatmata Koroma.
The incident occurred on 11th of September 2018.
Adama Kargbo, 13, stepdaughter of the accused, took the stands on Wednesday, April 8, to testify against Yambasu. During her cross examination by Lawyer Joseph A. K. Sesay, she said she had known Yambasu since 2011.
The 13 year old recalled that she was home on the 9th of September, 2018 with her mother (Prosecution witness No 1) who was having her hair done together with two other women, and her brother. She said after the departure of the two women at around 7: 00pm, his brother was lying on a bench outside the house, where she also sat. She continued that at that point, her stepfather came accusing her mother of bringing another man into their room, which her mother denied.
‘‘So he came and asked me whether I had seen my mother with any man in their room and I said no. He said that if I didn’t say the truth, he will beat me. So he took an iron spoon and hit me on my face and my mother ran out of the room to call Copul to the scene,’’ Kargbo explained.
Copul is a neighbor of the family.
The witness went on to note that Copul came to the scene and asked the accused why he had insisted on beating and damaging their daughter even when she had denied seeing any strange man in the house with her mother.
‘‘He still insisted that I was lying to him and that he would further beat me if I didn’t tell him the truth. So when the man [Copul] left, he took a bench and hit my mother with it, after which she ran to Copul and hid in his room for safety,’’ she stated.
The witness continued to explain that the accused ran after her mother and threatened Copul that if his wife wasn’t thrown out, he would broke the glasses of his house. When the wife was released, the accused again grabbed her and beat her, the witness said. She said it was at that point that her mother ran to their grandfather to inform him of what had happened.
She went on to tell the court that after their mother left for their grandfather’s house, the accused locked her and her brother in the room and threatened to kill her if she didn’t say the name of the man.
‘‘After a while, I heard my mother’s voice outside with my grandfather asking him to open the door. Later he opened the door and slapped my grandfather and grabbed him for a fight, giving him serious blows. He took a cutlass and cut my grandfather in the head,” the girl explained.
She added: “He took an iron rod and hit my grandfather and later pushed both my mother and my grandfather into a pit. He took the cutlass and ran after my grandmother as we ran to a neighbor - Satta.’’
The witness said upon their return, they met two men who carried their grandfather to a Poda-poda vehicle and rushed to the Adonkia Police station where they were both given a medical paper to be taken to the hospital.
She continued that she was herself treated and taken home. She said her grandfather was taken to the Cottage Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
During cross-examination, defense counsel Morrison Karimu asked how long the witness had known the accused. The witness replied that she was 11 years old when she knew the accused, adding that the incident was the first she had witnessed between them.
Yambasu was denied bail and sent back to jail.
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