By Fatima Kpaka
On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Detective Inspector Abu Bakarr Kargbo testified before Magistrate Sahr Kekura at Pademba Road Court No.1 against Joseph Mendel Lamin, the former station manager of VOPAD Radio, and two others who allegedly killed Samuel Brima Mattia.
The accused, Joseph Mendel Lamin, also known as “Manager Dust,” along with motorbike rider Morlia Kamara and driver Umaru Timbo, are facing two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and murder under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as amended by the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 2021.
The prosecution alleged that on January 15, 2025, at the Voice of Peace and Development (VOPAD) Radio Station in Kissi Town, Waterloo, the accused conspired with others to murder journalist Samuel Brima Mattia.
Detective Inspector Abu Bakarr Kargbo, in his testimony led by Inspector Kadie Taylor, stated that he is attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Freetown. He identified the complainant and further recognized the accused.
He recalled January 17, 2025, stating that while on duty with Inspector Paul A. Markieu, they received a transferred case and an inquiry file related to the murder case. The file contained statements from the complainant and witnesses, as well as a voluntary caution statement from the first accused. The case also included key exhibits: a Dell laptop computer belonging to the deceased, a black backpack, a yellow plastic bucket containing a liquid suspected to be contaminated with human blood, four metal weightlifting plates, two sticks, one electrical cable, and a large white rice bag that was allegedly used to wrap the victim’s body.
Further investigations led to the suspected blood sample being sent to forensic analysts for examination, with the forensic report tendered in court as Exhibit A. According to him, on January 20, 2025, the first accused was escorted to the CID by Inspector Conteh for further questioning.
At this juncture, the prosecutor requested an adjournment for the continuation of the evidence.
Magistrate Kekura remanded the accused in prison while the matter was adjourned to March 17, 2025.