By Fatima Kpaka
Freetown, Sierra Leone – Two military officers, Mohamed Buya Fofanah and Idrissa Conteh, have been brought before Magistrate Santigie Bangura at Pademba Road Court No. 2 over allegations Military Officers Appear of theft involving solar batteries and panels at the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) office in Lungi. The case was heard on Thursday, October 3, 2024.
The accused, Fofanah and Conteh, face charges under the Larceny Act of 1916. Fofanah was arraigned on two counts: store breaking and larceny, contrary to Section 26(1) of the Act, while Conteh was charged with receiving stolen goods, contrary to Section 33(1) of the same law.
The prosecution alleged that on July 16, 2024, at the SLRA compound on Kirma Port Loko Road in Lungi, within the Kafu Bullom Chiefdom, the accused broke into the store and stole six solar batteries and thirty-four solar panels valued at Le79,000, property of the SLRA. Conteh, the second accused, is alleged to have received two of the stolen solar panels, worth Le2,000, from Fofanah, knowing they had been stolen.
During the court session, the charges were read to Fofanah, but no plea was taken. Conteh was absent from the proceedings.
Detective Police Constable Thoronka K.K., the prosecutor in the case, applied for a bench warrant to be issued for the second accused, Conteh, who failed to appear in court. He also requested an adjournment to allow time to subpoena a key witness.
Magistrate Bangura granted the application for a bench warrant and ordered the remand of Fofanah in prison. The matter was adjourned to October 10, 2024, when the court will reconvene.