By Abass Jalloh
After appearing for the fifth time, Principal Magistrate, Mark Ngegba, of Pademba Road Court No. 1 in Freetown has refused bail to the seven accused persons who were arrested and charged for committing Public Order Offences during the parliamentary by-election at Sambaia Bendugu in Tonkolili District in June this year.
Refusing the bail yesterday 25th August, after the defense made the application for all of the accused persons, the magistrate noted that after looking into their respective files, the addresses of the accused persons are not in Freetown and that the offenses are serious.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons - Joseph Sheku Jalloh (1st), Saio Jalloh (2nd), Kulio Jalloh (3rd), Lansana Daramy (4th), Abdulai Kamara (5th), Ibrahim Kamara (6th), and Michael Kamara alias Trayman (7th), were on the 7th of June 2022, arrested for allegedly committing various offences related to campaigning for a parliamentary by-election in Tonkolili.
This matter was first presided over by Magistrate Sahr Kekura but it has now been handed over to Magistrate Ngegba.
It would be recalled that on the 28th July 2022 the prosecution presented its third witness, John Lamin Foray, a Chief Police Inspector in Sambaia Bendugu town, attached to a police post, who testified about the investigation they initiated after the incident, and the arrests made.
It would also be recalled that the defense team rejected from the witness a search warrant document that included records of findings during the search of the house of the first accused.
The defense lawyer, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, reiterated to the magistrate whether the police had the right to do a search in a person's house which is embedded in the constitutional right of privacy.
The witness in his testimony stated that after one of his personnel obtained a statement from the third accused on the night after the incident, the sixth and seventh accused were arrested by Robert Salia Kamara and others and brought to the police post.
The defense again objected that this type of testimony could not be in court because it is “hearsay”, and that he was testifying about what Robert said, noting that the testimony is “a prejudicial value to the mind of the bench”. This cannot be used as evidence, Lawyer Kamara said.
Magistrate Ngegba responded that because the witness is a police officer and does investigations, he could go ahead, but assured that he would not allow the witness to say something that is irrelevant.
The witness further recalled that on the 21st of June 2022 he was again on duty at the police post when Stevens Komeh of Magburaka Division asked him to make a statement about the said matter, which he did.
The defense did no cross-examination, saying that they would commence that on the next hearing and that they needed a copy of the search warrant document if the court decides to use it.
The matter was prosecuted by Ahmed Bockarie and will continue on Monday 29th August 2022.
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