By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
Isata Kamara, a resident of Waterloo Rural District, testified last Friday against two individuals accused of murdering her son, Mohamed Conteh, in Freetown.
Kamara stated that she had never met the accused before and that Friday was the first time she saw them in court.
The accused, Emma Coker, a social worker, and Abdul Khe-Morlai, a student, are facing two charges: conspiracy to commit murder under Section 4 of the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861 and murder under Section 1 of the same act, as amended by the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act of 2021.
According to the prosecution, the two accused conspired to murder Mohamed Conteh on December 22, 2024, at Bonga Lane in Freetown.
Testifying before Magistrate Sahr Kekura at Court No.1, Kamara recounted that on December 22, 2024, she had sent her son to Freetown to sell soap, but he never returned home. She explained that she grew increasingly worried as the night went on since he usually returned early.
According to Kamara, at around 4 p.m. that day, she received an urgent phone call from a woman who identified herself as the local chief of the Murray Town community in Freetown. The woman instructed her to come to Freetown immediately.
Upon her arrival, the chief provided her with information about her son’s condition and directed her to the Congo Cross Police Station. “When I arrived at the police station, I found my son in a critical state with blood coming from his mouth, nose, and ears. I also observed water coming from his anus,” she told the court.
She was given a police medical form and rushed her son to Satellite Hospital at Kingharman Road. However, due to the severity of his condition, he was referred to Connaught Hospital. Tragically, he was pronounced dead within minutes of arrival.
Six days later, police released the remains of her son for burial.
The case continues on Wednesday, February 26.
