By Saio Marrah
A senior police officer has told a magistrate in Freetown how he came to arrest Ali Jaffa, who is facing charges of illegal possession of weapon arising from the April 6th violence at Young Sportsmen Club (YSC) and two others.
Led in evidence by CSP Joan Bull, Chief Superintendent Mohamed Turay told magistrate, Santigie Bangura on Monday 29th April 2024, that on the day of the incident, he was at Lumley Police Station when he received a distress call that there was an incident taking place at YSC. He said he took his personnel to the scene and found people in panic mood.
According to the witness, he deployed his officers at the gate to prevent the perpetrators from escaping and that while there, he was approached by one Alie Sesay, who introduced himself as the chairman of the facility. He said he then told the chairman to get all those in the facility to go upstairs because the police wanted to put the situation under control.
Chief Superintendent Turay said he also told the chairman that he wanted to get the people involved in the fighting inside the YSC noting that while engaging chairman Sesay, he saw the accused, Jaffa approaching them, shouting in anger. He said they then arrested three members of the Jaffa family including the accused.
He said he asked about a pistol which he was told was in the hands of somebody in the facility and it was handed over to him Touffic Jaward, who told him that he wrestled it from the accused. He added: “I then took the weapon to the Lumley police station, and we allowed the children and women to go home”.
Under cross-examination by lawyer Jessie Jengo, the witness said when they arrived at the scene the fighting was still in progress and that they arrested and brought the three people to the police station while the vehicle returned to the scene. He admitted not seeing the gun with the accused, Jaffa.
Another member of the defence team, Jeredine Manley-Spaine, while applying for bail for the accused, told the magistrate that the medical condition of the accused had deteriorated. She said she was told that the accused spent the whole weekend at the medical facility in the correctional center, and that the medical doctor at the facility was not around because he was bereaved.
Ms. Manley-Spaine urged the magistrate to grant her client bail as he needs regular medical attention including physiotherapy sessions.
The bail application was objected to by the lead state prosecutor Joan Bull, who argued that there was a medical facility at the correctional center to cater for the accused.
In his ruling, Magistrate Bangura refused the bail application and adjourned the case to Wednesday 8th May this year.
Meanwhile, the Exhibit Clerk at the CID Issa Kamara earlier tendered a pistol, a magazine and six live bullets to the court.
In another separate case in which the accused is jointly charged with six other accused persons in connection with the same alleged acts of violence was also adjourned for the same date. State witnesses did not show up at the hearing of this side of the case.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (06/05/24)
