By Elizabeth Kamara
Thirty-three-year-old Mohamed Kamara, Zainab Turay, Mohamed Kamara, Zakaria Sankoh, and Abdul Samuel Kamara appeared before Magistrate Sahr Kekura at Pademba Road Court No.1 in Freetown. They face two charges: conspiracy to commit a felony and shop breaking and larceny, contrary to section 26(1) of the Larceny Act of 1916.
According to court documents, the accused allegedly conspired on Monday, October 14, 2024, at Koroma Lane, Calaba Town, along with other unidentified persons, to commit the felony of shop breaking.
On that date, they are accused of breaking into the shop of Fatmata Kamara with the intent to steal. Allegedly, they took four large jars of mayonnaise, twenty large containers of cooking oil, five cartons of Onga Maggi, twenty-four cartons of sweetened milk, and other assorted items, totaling 41,610 Leones, all belonging to Kamara.
When the charges were read and explained to the accused, they did not enter a plea.
Sergeant 9939 Lahai M. led the first witness, Fatmata Kamara, a businesswoman from Calaba Town, who testified that she recognized the accused individuals. She explained that on the night of the alleged incident, she had closed her shop and gone to bed. Later, she heard noises and mentioned them to her neighbor, who reassured her that it was not from her shop.
The following morning, a customer requested a bag of rice, so Kamara sent her son, Albert, to the shop. Soon after, a neighbor informed her that something had happened, prompting her to inspect her shop, where she discovered that one side had been broken into and items valued at 41,610 Leones were missing.
The testimony was briefly interrupted as the witness struggled to provide a clear account. The defense counsel for the second accused renewed a previous bail application, but Magistrate Kekura denied bail for all the accused and ordered their remand at the Male and Female Correctional Center in Freetown. The case was adjourned to November 19, 2024.
