By Saio Marrah
Freetown High Court Number 7 presided over by Justice Komba Kamanda has set free a man named Zachariah Jalloh of sexual penetration charges of a girl under age of consent.
In his ruling on Thursday 6th July 2023, the judge said in a criminal matter the burden is on the prosecution to prove the evidence beyond reasonable doubt.
He said the evidence provided by the victim as Prosecution Witness One (PW1) was never supported by other persons, and that the prosecution had failed to prove their case against the accused person beyond reasonable doubt.
According to him, there is doubt as to whether it was the accused who committed the offence. He said the victim said in unsworn evidence without cross-examination that it was the accused who committed the act and that the accused on the other hand said it was not him that committed the crime.
“So who do I believe? Do I believe the unsworn evidence, evidence that was not on oath? Or do I believe the evidence of the accused who was led in sworn evidence. That in my mind alone has created doubt as to whether it was actually the accused who committed the offence,” he noted
Justice Kamanda said such doubt in criminal proceedings must be resolved in favour of the accused.
While recounting the evidence provided by the prosecution witnesses, the presiding judge said the PW1, who is the victim, told the court that the accused was a friend to her brother and that between the 1st and 31st March 2020, the accused entered the bathroom she was bathing, took out a knife and had sexual intercourse with her, which led to her bleeding.
The presiding judge also noted that PW1also said that she escorted her friend to the accused’s house where the accused removed her clothes and raped her again.
According to Justice Kamanda, the witness also told the court that her mother discovered that she had had sexual intercourse because she put up a stubborn attitude.
The court learnt that the victim’s aunt named Kumba then interrogated her, but she did not say a word even after her aunt threatened her and only explained it was the accused that did the act, after one Julius forced her.
Justice Kamanda said after numerous adjournments, the rest of the prosecution witnesses failed to go to court so the prosecution closed its case.
He said the accused Jalloh denied all the allegations in their entirety and had told the court that he was deported from Algeria to Sierra Leone in 2020.
Jalloh reportedly stated the victim is the daughter of his aunt and that she never took her friend to his house.
In a cross examination, the accused said he made a statement to the police, but can’t read or write. He also told police that he wanted the statement to be tendered in evidence, which Justice Kamanda confirmed was done.
The accused also denied residing at his father’s house which he said was sold, some of its proceeds then used to pay for his travel to first Turkey before going to Algeria.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (10/07/23)
