Umaru Kamara was on Tuesday 24th November 2020 sent back to prison at the Male Correctional Centre on Pademba Road, Freetown after he could not meet a bail condition earlier granted to him in the ongoing preliminary investigations into an alleged theft. Umaru Kamara was arraigned before Magistrate Mark Ngegba at the Freetown Magistrate Court No 2 on Pademba Road.
Police alleged that accused Kamara on Friday 16th October 2020 stole a mattress entrusted to him by one Fatmata Kamara for delivery. In his testimony, prosecution witness Osman Kamara, a wheelbarrow pusher, recognised the complainant, Fatmata Kamara, but came to know the accused because of the matter.
He recalled that on Friday 16th October 2020 he’d come to deliver a pair of shoes at Free Street when a man informed him that one of his customers wanted him to deliver her goods.
“I wasted no time and located the woman. She hired me to take the goods from Free Street to a certain place. The accused showed up at the scene and requested that he accompanied me to deliver the goods, but Fatmata was not too sure of him and told me to be watchful,” he explained. He added that night fell before they reached a particular hill where he had issues with his wheelbarrow tires and was going to fix them when “the accused person who was using another wheelbarrow did not wait for me, but I later saw Umaru after he had offloaded the mattress. The following morning Fatmata called me to say one of the mattresses had gone missing.”
He furthered that he and Fatmata later went to the shop where the mattresses were bought, and were able to locate Umaru who was arrested and charged to court. Osman said he later made a statement to the police. During cross-examination, Umaru who was not represented by a lawyer argued that both of them (he and the witness) counted the mattresses before they left for the place where it was going to be delivered. He further argued that they called on Fatmata who also counted them.
However, prosecution witness Osman maintained that the mattresses were not counted. Police prosecutor Sergeant Kpulum is prosecuting the matter. Umaru remained in custody after he could not meet his bail condition. Magistrate Mark Ngegba adjourned the matter to 7th December 2020.
By Sulaiman Karim Sesay