The third prosecution witness, Zainab Isatu Kamara has on Monday August 24, 2020, testified before Magistrate Hannah Bonnie of Court No.1 on Pademba Road in Freetown, in a matter involving Dr. Sylvia O. Blyden, the proprietress of Awareness Times Newspaper, and Hussein Mukson Sesay who are being preliminary investigated on defamatory libel and other related matter.
Led in evidence by state prosecutor Yusuf Sesay, the witness, Zainab Isatu Kamara attached to the Major Incident Units at the Criminal Investigation Department headquarter, said that on May 22, 2020, she was on duty when Detective Superintendent, Mohammed Kuba Allieu handed over to her laptop, mobile phones, documents and a photograph of the former President of Sierra Leone to be kept as exhibits.
She said Superintendent Allieu told her the items had been retrieved from the premises of both accused persons.
According to Kamara, she prepared a list of the items and handed it over to the exhibit clerk Sergeant 1516 Abu Conteh.
The exhibits were about to be tendered and marked to form part of the evidence, but the documents were incomplete, at that juncture Magistrate Bonnie stood the matter down until the complete documents which constituted what the prosecution had intended to tender to be completed.
After few minutes defense counsel, Charles Francis Margai, re-mentioned the matter and sought for a date to be taken so that the prosecution could prepare their case properly.
State prosecutor Yusuf Sesay did not object to adjournment been taken and the date suggested. The matter was adjourned to September 14, 2020.
It could be recalled that, the accused persons were arraigned on ten counts ranging from seditious libel, publication of false news, doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of justice, defamatory libel and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The charge sheet indicated that the first accused Dr. Sylvia Blyden on April 23, 2020 in Freetown did an act with seditious intention by publishing via Facebook social media that Alfred Paolo Conteh was detained in a cell where he is forced to urinate and defecate in a bucket, and was forced to sleep for days inside a cell with windows so high that they could not easily ventilate the stench from his cell.
The charge sheet continues that the second accused Hussain Mukson Sesay on May 2, 2020, with intent to pervert the course of justice did an act by photographing an ongoing Criminal investigation and publishing it on WhatsApp social media group without lawful authority.
By Isabella Cassell
25/8/2020. ISSUE NO: 7894