By Saio Marrah
The first accused in an ongoing land fraud case before the Principal Magistrate, Mark Ngegba in Freetown, has told the court that he wants to refund the one hundred and two million old Leones (Le 120,000,000) he obtained from the complainant in the said land deal.
Alusine Sesay, 47, said this during the court hearing on Wednesday 15th February 2023 in response to three options given to him and the second accused, Aloyious Kamara by the magistrate.
Magistrate Ngegba told them to either choose among relying on the statement made at the police, open their defence that which would mean bringing witness(s), or stand in the dock while responding to or asking questions.
The 35-year-old second accused - a surveyor with the Ministry of Lands, Aloyious Kamara, opted to open his defence and promised to bring one witness.
The magistrate gave them these options when their lawyer failed to turn up for the case.
The matter proceeded on Wednesday with the second prosecution witness Julius Jones, the husband of the complainant in the witness box.
He told the court that between July and December 2020, the second accused told him and his wife about a piece of land for sale at No.2 River, along the Peninsular Road.
According to him, they went to the place and the second accused showed them the plot of land as well as details about the land. The witness said the accused gave them the phone number for the owner of the property identified as the first accused.
The witness said they went to the residence of the owner at Benguema, for more details about the land and the asking price.
According to him each of the four plots was Sixty thousand new Leones (NLe 60,000), an information they communicated to beneficiary leading to the payment of the first installment of one hundred and twenty million old Leones (Le 120,000,000) to the second accused at his wife’s office for which they obtained a receipt.
The witness said the first payment was made to the second accused after the first accused informed him and his wife that he was busy. The second payment of seventy million old Leones (Le 70, 000,000) to the first accused was done at the Belgian Consulate in Spur Loop Freetown.
The witness noted that the complainant alone made the last payment to the first accused with a receipt obtained.
Led in evidence by the police prosecutor, Inspector Kadie M. Taylor, the witness pointed out that after the complete payment, documents of the land including the conveyance were handed over to his wife.
He added that they were taken to the land and introduced to the neighbors including the caretaker of the land.
The case has been adjourned to 22 February this year.
Copyright © 2023 Politico Online (17/02/23)
