By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Dr. Kitty Fadludeen, an academic and retired music instructor has on the 1st July 2021 testified as an alleged victim involving one Mustapha Kabba as the accused in a robbery with aggravation matter at High Court No.1 in Freetown.
During examination by Counsel for the State, Yada Williams, Fadludeen narrated the event of the day of the said robbery and recalled on the 1st September 2020, in the morning hours, when her doorbell rang as she was getting ready to attend a meeting. She said she opened with the expectation that the person at the door was Alfred, her house help. She told the court that upon opening the door she saw a dark and huge man with an envelope which bears a print of her name. She said that the accused had said that he was from the Ministry of Tourism.
The alleged victim also told the court that the accused grabbed her by the throat as she was about to receive the envelope. She added that at that point she screamed for help but that Kabba leaned her on the wall and grabbed her mouth –dragged her to the toilet where he stuffed toilet paper and a towel into her mouth.
The said toilet paper and towel were tendered in court as exhibits D and F respectively. Dr. Fadludeen was able to recognise both the toilet paper and towel as the same used by the accused, Mustapha Kabba.
She continued in her testimony that as she made attempts to cry for help, the accused took out a gun and threatened to shoot her. “I am an old woman and I’m going to die anyway,” she reminisced on the words she told Kabba, the accused robber.
The said gun was also tendered in court as exhibit A and the old woman was able to recognise it as the same gun that was used by Kabba.
She continued her narration by stating that the accused used a strap to tie her hands when she was dragged to the bathroom. She said at this point the accused told her that it was her car that he wanted and that he knew that the old woman had no money. She added that at that point the accused left her in the toilet and that she had to eavesdrop to make sure that the accused was gone. She said that it was during that process she heard the revving of the car’s engine to which she shouted for help.
Fadludeen said Alfred and Ansu the watchman then came to her rescue.
Both the strap and pictures of the car were tendered in court for identification by the elderly woman as exhibits E and C1-2 and identified both exhibits.
The car in question, according to the evidence in chief, is worth $24,500.The second witness called to the stand by the prosecution was Josephus Musa, a police officer that was part of the team of police investigators. However, counsel for the accused, Harold Momoh objected when the said police officer tendered a photocopy of the said document to which he was to use in his testimony.
Justice Komba Kamanda adjourned the matter to the 6th July 2021 with a subpoena for the other officers that were said to be in possession of the original document.
Copyright © 05/-7/21 Politico Online
