By Fatima Kpaka
Freetown, Sierra Leone – On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, Lawyer M.S. Koroma, one of the defense counsels for Patricia Laverley, informed Magistrate Bangura of his renewed application at the High Court for a three-month extension of his client’s medical leave. Laverley, currently undergoing medical treatment in Ghana, requires additional time for her recovery.
The initial order for medical leave was granted by Justice Alhaji Momoh Jah Steven on December 6, 2024, allowing Laverley to travel to Ghana for a Coronary Angiogram procedure at St. Michael’s Specialist Hospital in Lapaz, Accra. The procedure is not available in Sierra Leone. The learned judge has now granted the defense’s application for an extension of time for Laverley’s medical treatment.
State counsel Yusuf Isaac Sesay did not object to the application made by the defense counsel. Consequently, Magistrate Santigie Bangura has adjourned the matter to May 5, 2025.
Patricia Laverley faces two charges: inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to section 20 of the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to law. The charges stem from an incident on November 12, 2024, at State House in Freetown, where Laverley allegedly assaulted Nabella Farida Tunis with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and caused actual bodily harm.
The court proceedings will resume once Laverley completes her medical treatment and returns to Sierra Leone.