By Francis H. Murray
Corporal Samson Sesay, a serving member of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), has appeared before Magistrate Mark Ngegba in Freetown to answer to a one count charge of domestic and economic violence brought up against him by his wife.
The accused made his first court appearance on Tuesday 15 September, 2020, for allegedly threatening her and stealing $8,600 and Le7million from his wife, Nurse Agnes Bendu Sesay.
The police alleged that the accused person on Tuesday 9th September, 2020, at No. 57 Juba Barracks, Lumley in Freetown, being in domestic relationship with Agnes Bendu Sesay, his wife, economically abused her.
The accused entered into a non-guilty plea when the charges were put to him.
Led in evidence by ASP Hawa Bah, the first prosecution witness, Agnes Bendu, recognized the accused Samson Sesay as her husband, and recalled that on the 9 July, 2020, she was in the birth room when she heard that someone entered the parlor, and when she looked, it was her husband and his junior brother who had just returned from Kabala.
She added that her husband dropped his bag and went out without talking to her, adding that after she finished bathing, she dressed and went for work.
Nurse Agnes further noted that when she returned from work the next day, she met her belongings outside the veranda and she was shocked. She explained that when she inquired from her husband why her belongings were thrown outside, her husband told her that she was no longer needed in the house.
The witness said she then called the Family Support Unit (FSU) at the Lumley Police Station who came and invited the accused. She said the accused asked the FSU Officer to go as he was working under command and that he would report to the FSU the next day.
The witness went on to explain that later when checking through her properties, she noticed that the money wasn’t where she had kept it, inside a drum in a plastic bag. She said she later went to the Lumley Police Station to report the matter and a statement was obtained from her.
At the end of her testimony, the witness was cross-examined by a lawyer representing the defendant, followed by an application for bail. Magistrate Ngegba admitted the accused to self-bail and handed him over to the Liaison Officer.
The matter was adjourned to the 29 September, 2020.
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