Josephine Gbantamoi, alias Aminata Sillah, and Komba Mbayoh were granted Le300 million bail each after they appeared before Magistrate Hannah Bonnie at Freetown Magistrate Court No. 1 on Pademba Road for alleged financial impropriety. According to the indictment, both accused on 21st May 2020 conspired with others to defraud pastor Idrissa Bangura of Le100 million by pretending they had one and half town plot at Gooding Drive, Goderich, Freetown, knowing same to be false. The indictment also alleged first accused Gbantamoi, on 21st May 2020 at Allen Town in Freetown, willfully made false statements to Pastor Bangura that she owned the conveyance with folio 1020/81, volume 331, page 142, dated 12th August 1981 bearing the name Aminata Sillah.
Consequently, both accused persons faced three counts including conspiracy to defraud contrary to law, obtaining money by false pretense contrary to Section 32(1) of the Larceny Act of 1916, and false declaration contrary to Section 5(C) of the Perjury Act of 1911. The charging officer who had earlier testified in court was cross-examined by second accused Mbayoh who was not represented by a lawyer. In his cross-examination of police witness Sergeant Abdul Patrick, Mbayoh said the receipt which pastor Bangura brought to court does not bear his signature, adding that he did not give any receipt for the sale of any land.
First accused Gbantamoi who was not represented by a lawyer didn’t cross-examine the police witness. Magistrate Hannah Bonnie granted Le300 million bail to each accused person plus two sureties in like sum. The two sureties must be Sierra Leoneans residing in the municipality, and one of the sureties must own a property valued at Le500 million with a true certified copy of a title deed brought to the court.
She adjourned the matter to 28th August 2020.
By Sulaiman Karim Sesay