By Alimatu Jalloh
Freetown, February 7, 2025 – Twenty-year-old Julius Aruna Mongoh, a scrap metal worker, made his first appearance before Magistrate Sahr Kekura at Pademba Road Court No.1 in Freetown on Friday, facing charges of malicious damage and larceny.
According to court particulars, on February 1, 2025, at the Government Printing Department in New England Ville, Freetown, Mongoh allegedly caused malicious damage to four air conditioners, each valued at thirty thousand Leones. The property belongs to the Government Printing Department.
The second count stated that on the same date and location, Mongoh allegedly stole the four air conditioners, also valued at a total of one hundred and twenty thousand Leones.
Upon reading and explaining the charges, Mongoh pleaded not guilty. Prosecutor Inspector Kadie M. Taylor led the first prosecution witness, Amara Bangura, a security guard with Modern Security Agency assigned to the Government Printing Department. Bangura testified that he knew Mongoh and recalled the events of the 1st of February 2025. On that day, at around 1 a.m., while patrolling the compound, Bangura observed that an air conditioner under repair was missing. He decided to climb the retaining wall and discovered Mongoh had dismantled the air conditioner and placed it in a rice bag.
At this point, the Prosecutor sought a short adjournment to confer properly with her witness. Magistrate Kekura refused bail and remanded Mongoh to the male correctional facility in Freetown. The matter has been adjourned to February 14, 2025.