Court of Appeal Judge, Honourable Justice Komba Kamanda has sentenced 44-year-old mechanic Mustapha Kabba to 57 years in prison for Robbery with Aggravation committed against Octogenarian Mrs. Kitty Fadlu-Deen.
It comes after an eleven-member jury unanimously returned a guilty verdict in respect of a four counts indictment, including attempting to strangle and causing grievous bodily harm, against the criminal.
According to the particulars of the offence, the accused on September 1, 2020, in the Western Area of Freetown being armed with a black powerline semi-automatic gun robbed Mrs. Fadlu-Deen off one dark grey 2018 Toyota Rav-4 Jeep valued at US$24,500,000 (Le245, 000,000,000); one Samsung J-20 mobile phone valued at US$150 (Le1, 500,000); caused her grievous bodily harm; and attempted to strangle her.
The convict denied the allegations upon his arrangement before the Court.
In his opening address to the jurors at the commencement of the trial, prosecuting Lawyer, Yada Williams, said that the accused was before the court on a four counts indictment which he must prove.
He said there was enough evidence to prove that on September 1, 2020 at about 8:15am, the accused went to the premises of Mrs. Fadlu-Deen at Lumley and upon arrival at the house, encountered unarmed security guards but pretended he was on the phone with Mrs. Fadlu-Deen to trick the guards to have access to the premises.
“He went upstairs, tricked his way in and there started the agony, pain and sufferings of this over 80-year-old woman. She was physically manhandled by the accused person and the evidence will reveal all of this. She was dragged into one of the toilets inside the house where she was girded with a lot of toiled tissues and towels stuffed into her mouth so that she could not raise an alarm for the guards outside or neighbours,’’ Lawyer Williams told the Court.
He said that for the incident itself to have taken place in broad daylight showed the “effrontery and audacity” of the accused, adding that the accused tied up the old woman and demanded the keys to her vehicle and was directed to where the keys were kept out of fear.
He said that the accused person locked Mrs. Fadlu-Deen in the toilet, took her phone and disappeared with the vehicle and with the deception that he was in relationship with the woman. “The guards opened the gates and the accused drove off,” he said.
The old woman, he said, was later able to scream after struggling for a couple of minutes before the servants and neighbours came to her rescue.
The prosecuting lawyer said a report of the incident was made at the Lumley Police Station with Interpol alerted as well as security personnel at the Sierra Leone-Guinea border.
He added that later the same day, the accused showed up at the Sierra Leone Guinea border with the vehicle with a diplomatic license plate recorded as 19 CD 12 and was intercepted by the Guinean authorities with the gun he had used to terrify the woman.
He stressed that the accused made several confessional statements to the police as well as admitted having sold the woman’s phone which he stole on his way to Guinea.
The prosecution led in evidence several witnesses in support of his case.
At the close of the prosecution’s case, the accused claimed that he was being tortured at the Criminal Investigation Department which compelled him to make a confessional statement.
After his claim of torture in the hands of the police, Justice Kamanda conducted a voir dire (trial within trial) to ascertain whether his claims were true but they turned out to be false.
In his allocutus, the convict said he had nothing to say.
In his plea in mitigation, defence lawyer Harold Momoh implored the judge to temper justice with mercy.
Delivering his judgment, Hon. Justice Kamanda said his judgment was informed by the entirety of the evidence, the audacity with which the convict committed the offence.
He added that the way in which the convict did the act showed that he is a “professional criminal”.
“The purpose of law enforcers is to ensure that people live and enjoy their property in peace and safety,” he stated.
Justice Kamanda sentenced the convict to 25 years for count 1, 20 years for count 2, 10 years for count 3 and 2 years for count 4.
Source: Judiciary of Sierra Leone Communications