By Yusufu S. Bangura
Magistrate Santigie Bangura of Pademba Road Magistrate Court No. 2 has committed a mother and daughter, Kashopeh Smith and Remi Smith, to the Siaka Stevens Street High Court for trial over the alleged murder of Superintendent Arnold Adeyemi Coker, a police officer.
Delivering his ruling, Magistrate Bangura stated that the prosecution had conducted a preliminary investigation and presented sufficient evidence, including testimony from four witnesses: a formal witness, a factual witness, the exhibit clerk, and the scene of crime officer. The witnesses also tendered various exhibits that bolstered the prosecution’s case.
Magistrate Bangura explained that his role in a preliminary investigation is to examine the evidence provided. If sufficient evidence is established, the matter is committed to the High Court for trial. If the evidence is deemed insufficient, the accused are discharged pursuant to Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 32 of 1965.
He noted that, after reviewing the entirety of the evidence, including the accused persons’ statements to the police, he was convinced that the prosecution had met the required threshold for the case to proceed to the High Court.
At the Magistrate Court, the accused persons did not enter a plea, as the case is still in its preliminary stages. They face four charges: murder under Section 1 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1816 (as amended and replaced by Section 1 of the Schedule of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 2021, Act No. 6 of 2022), perverting the course of justice, misprision of felony, and related offenses.
According to the charge sheet, on Monday, September 2, 2024, at No. 37 Carr Street, Hastings, Freetown, Kashopeh Smith allegedly murdered Superintendent Coker.
The police further alleged that Kashopeh, knowing the circumstances surrounding the murder, fabricated evidence to pervert the course of justice.
Remi Smith, the second accused, is alleged to have unlawfully concealed her mother’s involvement in the crime and also attempted to pervert the course of justice between September 1 and September 2, 2024, at the same address.
The accused were represented by lawyers Claudius Campbell and Chernor Kamara, while the prosecution was led by ASP Wellington and ACP Juan Bull.
Magistrate Bangura denied bail and ordered the accused to be remanded at the Female Correctional Centre in Freetown until the High Court trial commences.
