By Abass Jalloh
Following the end of testimony of the prosecuting witness, Po;ice Officer Mohamed Jusu, in the matter between the State and the Freetown Mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the Prosecutor, Yusuf Isaac Sesay, on Friday November 4 stated that they would lead in other witnesses on the 14th November 2022 at which time they would be closing their case.
Mayor Aki Sawyer is before the court to answer to two charges of Obstruction of Police Duty and Disorderly Behaviour.
Court records show that the mayor on Saturday 17th September 2022 at the Airport Police Division in Lungi, Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom, Port Loko District, obstructed Detective Sergeant 7966, Richard Junior Caulker and Corporal 12225 Fanta Fofanah while executing their lawful duties.
On Wednesday November 2nd at the Pademba Road Court No. 1 in Freetown, the witness (Jusu), attached to the Cyber Crime Unit at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters in Freetown, presented and played a video in court as evidence against the accused.
In continuation of cross-examination of Jusu by defence lawyer Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara on Friday, the witness told that the court that what was required of him was to find out the forensic analysis of the hard drive and that the conclusions and observations must be derived from the experiment and correspond with the scientific conclusion.
The lawyer put it to the witness that the video was not addressed to the police and that the accused was speaking to issues of arbitrary arrest. But the officer said that was part of his claims and that Mayor Aki-Sawyerr was talking to the public and the Police inclusive.
Kamara put it to him that the mayor did not touch any police officer or prevent anyone, but the officer said she did. The lawyer then ordered the witness to prove that to the court.
Replaying the video in a bid to comment, the officer was unable to pause the video to prove the claim. However, the witness said the manner the mayor was talking and the vigour she was putting around had distraction to the police not to do their duty.
He was further asked to confirm if he studied psychology or if he is a psycho analyst. The witness responded that he is not a psychologist but that psychology is part of their work.
Kamara put it to the witness that he did not have the competence for these analyses, but the witness said he has, noting that that the testimony that was given by one Sergeant Caulker was part of the scientific analysis.
Kamara said the accused used the word “turmoil” (a word also mentioned by the witness during his testimony) which means confusion. The lawyer said it was the derivative of the witness's state of mind that was preconceived in the report. The witness answered in the affirmative.
In using the same exhibit, the witness was told that he should show the court how he concluded the state of mind of the accused. The witness said he drew conclusion from the video based on “observation and conclusion..”.
He was asked if the accused was violent, but the officer stated that he did not say she was violent and did not use the word violence during his testimony.
Officer Jusu disagreed with the defence lawyer’s claim that his finding was “highly speculative and has no scientific base”.
The trial continues next Monday 14th November.
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