By Francis H. Murray
Justice John Bosco Allieu of High Court No 6 has sentenced John Alawel Kamara to 15 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of ‘‘wounding with intent’’, contrary to section 18 of the offences against the Person Act, 1861.
Police had accused Kamara that on the 13th April 2015 in Freetown, he wounded Nathaniel Thomas with an intent to cause him a grievous bodily harm.
Prosecution witness No. 1 (PW 1), Detective Police Constable 5179 Batillo Kallon, attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Sierra Leone Police, said he was on duty when a case of wounding with intent was handed over to him for further investigation.
In his testimony, Kallon added that on receipt of the report, he issued a police medical request from the complainant, Abdul Wahab, for examination and treatment at the Connaught Hospital.
According to PW1, following the report of the incident, the accused went on the run for which a warrant of arrest was executed for him before the accused was arrested and taken to the Congo Cross Police station for questioning.
Thomas was charged with one count: wounding with intent.
The accused in his statement said that he had a quarrel with Wahab, which resulted in a fight between them, adding that the complainant hit him with an object on the head and further took out a dagger in order to stab him. The accused said that he fought with the complaint whom he accused of wounding him on his arm and head.
Wahab in his testimony said he was home when he was informed by his sister in law that somebody was raining all manner of motherly invectives against his siblings.
He said he came out to caution him and to report the matter to the police, but instead the accused persisted and pursued him. He added that the accused was holding a broken bottle which he used to stab him on his head, where he sustained wounds which caused bleeding.
Wahab said he tried to restrain the accused from further stabbing him but was unsuccessful. He said the accused went further to inflict multiple stab wounds on different parts of his body with the broken bottle before he ran away.
Wahab said he received 49 stiches for his wounds.
The police medical report backed up Wahab’s story and photographs also showed the wounds he sustained.
The accused later admitted to the allegations made against him, noting that it was at a later stage that he realized that he had seriously wounded the complainant, calling it a “mistake”.
‘‘Taking into consideration all the evidence as adduced in this honorable court, and the circumstances thereto, I am left with no doubt that the prosecution has proved its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubts and the accused is hereby found guilty of the offence as charged in the indictment dated 2nd August 2016,’’ Justice Allieu said on Tuesday, March 31.
Following the sentence, Justice Allieu said it’s important to make an example, because stabbing is becoming rampant among young people in the country.
Defense counsel, Cecilia Tucker, pleaded with the judge to temper justice with mercy and give the accused another chance to make amends with his life by contributing to society.
Lawyer Tucker said her client had already spent about four years in prison for his mistake.
The matter was prosecuted by State counsel, Lawyer Alberta Kargbo.
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