By Fatima Kpaka
Freetown, Sierra Leone – In a dramatic turn of events, Detective Police Sergeant 10601 John Ansumana Marcathy testified on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, against Hawanatu Hawa Koroma, who stands accused of setting her husband, Nabieu Bangura, ablaze, resulting in his death.
The accused was charged with murder, contrary to section 1 of the Offences Against the Person Act of 1816, as repealed and replaced by section 1(a) of the schedule of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act of 2021, Act No. 6 of 2022. According to the charge sheet, the alleged crime occurred on Friday, November 22, 2024, at the back of Leicester Peak Junction in Freetown.
Detective Sergeant Marcathy, attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Hill Top Police Station, Mountain Division, Freetown, testified that he knew the complainant and recognized the accused in the dock. He recalled that on the day of the incident, a case of murder involving Nabieu Bangura was transferred from the Family Support Unit to the CID, and he was assigned to investigate.
Marcathy stated that attached to the case file were voluntary caution statements obtained from the complainant and the accused, as well as a medical report from Connaught Hospital, where the deceased had been admitted. He noted that the file indicated the accused had set the deceased on fire, leading to his death.
He further testified that a request for a postmortem examination was made on Friday, November 24, 2024, and sent to Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Someone Owizz Koroma. The examination was conducted on Monday, November 25, 2024, at Connaught Mortuary in the presence of both the detective and the deceased’s relatives. The resulting death certificate was issued to the police and a copy given to the family for burial purposes.
On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, Marcathy, along with Police Constable 21552 Samba G, obtained voluntary caution statements from the accused, adhering to judicial rules. These statements were tendered in evidence in court.
The witness also testified that on December 17, 2024, the accused was officially charged with murder, with the charges being prepared in accordance with judicial procedures and subsequently presented in court as exhibits E1-3.
The case has been adjourned to Wednesday, January 29, 2025, for the cross-examination of the police witness. Meanwhile, the accused remains in prison.