By Francis H. Murray
There were emotional scenes at the High Court in Freetown after the accused in one of the most high profile murder trials in Sierra Leone’s recent history were acquitted by a jury after just over one hour of deliberation. The 12-member jury was unanimous that Mariama Sajor Barrie and Ibrahim Bah not guilty of the alleged murder of five-year old Khadija Saccoh.
In his Summing-up earlier, Justice Bosco Allieu told the jury to disregard any public comments, opinions or publications made in respect of the trial either on social or traditional media, adding that they must only consider the evidence that was adduced before the court during the course of the trial.
He said after reviewing the totality of the evidence before the court, what came out clearly was that the action was born out of malice and that all was not well between both sides of the late girl’s family. He added that the tension displayed among the family members, point to the existence of hostility among them.
The State Prosecutor Joseph A. K Sesay led in evidence a total of 13 witnesses during the course of the trial and tendered 21 exhibits while both accused persons testified on oath in their own defence along with other witnesses.
Both the accused persons and their family members declined to comment on the outcome of the case.
The death of 5 year-old Khadija Madinatu Saccoh in June 2020 sparked public outrage and demonstrations amid calls for the authorities to seriously fight rape and the abuse of women and girls.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online (22/03/21)
