The Legal Aid Board (LAB) lawyers represented forty-one accused persons including two juveniles in separate trials in Freetown, Bo and Kabala between October 22 and November 18, 2024.
Twenty-three of those represented were discharged in separate court sittings in Freetown including one presided over by the acting Chief Justice, His Lordship, Justice Nicholas Browne-Marke. Thirteen were released in Kabala by Justice A.M Bangura and the remaining five were released in Bo.
Sarah, not her real name, was a juvenile that was set free by Justice A.R Mansaray for want of prosecution after spending nearly six months at the Juvenile Remand Home at Kingtom in Freetown. Sarah was standing trial on charges of house breaking and larceny. She was seventeen years old at the time of her arrest in April 2024. She turned eighteen barely two months after her incarceration.
Upon her released, Sarah was counselled by the Executive Director of the Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles and then handed over to a Correctional Service Warden for her to be reunited with her family at Matotoka in the Tonkolili district.
In her usual post discharge briefing for those released in Freetown, Ms. Carlton-Hanciles, admonished them to eschew violence and work hard for a living. She said crime in whatever form is bad and they must desist from it. She urged them to go back to their communities and be good contributors.
She assured the public of the Board’s continued commitment to ensuring that the poor and vulnerable are represented in the courts.
One of the clients, Samuel Spaine, of OKA Drive, Juba, who was acquitted and discharged on a two-count charge of conspiracy and store breaking and larceny, expressed gratitude to the Board for its intervention. Samuel added that he was pleased with the outcome of his matter and looks forward to reuniting with his family in Bo. He assured the Board of his commitment to remaining a peaceful and law abiding citizen.
Prior to their release, the clients were arraigned on multiple offences ranging from conspiracy, to robbery with aggravation; wounding with intent; fraudulent conversion; shop breaking and larceny.
In another development, the Board’s resident lawyer for Koinadugu district, Thanue Jalloh represented forty-one accused persons during the Kabala High Court session. These include thirteen that were set free and four granted bail.
The beneficiaries in Freetown were represented by Counsel Cecilia Tucker; Randy Bangura; and Abraham Kargbo, while those in Bo were represented by Counsel John Jack Harris.
