By Fatima Kpaka
Rosaline Ya-Alimany Bangura, the wife of Kabba Santigie Bangura, a former lecturer at Fourah Bay College whose lifeless-body was found in the custody of one Ibrahim Kalokoh, a herbalist, after being missing for 9 days, has testified before Magistrate Mark Ngegba that she called her husband on Monday the 6th of March after noticing that he had unusually not returned home, but his phone rung endlessly for two days with no one answering the phone.
He revealed this when on Monday the 5th of June 2023 he testified before Magistrate Mark Ngegba of Court No. 1 on Pademba Road where preliminary investigation into the cause of the deceased lecturer’s death is ongoing.
The accused, Ibrahim M. Kalokoh, is charge with one count of murder contrary to law
According to the charge, the accused on Monday 6 March 2023 at Newton Water murder Kabba Santigie Bangura.
Led in evidence by police Inspector Kadie M. Taylor, PW1, Rosaline Ya-Alimamy Bangura the wife of the victim, said that Kabba Santigie Bangura was her husband of 29 years with whom she bore four boys.
She continued that after she could not reach the deceased on the phone, she said she reached out to her in-laws and reported his absence. “The family” she said “mounted a search which also ended up in futility until 10th March when they made an official report at the Central Police Station.”
She added that on the same day she also reported to the police that her husband was missing, and added that on the 15 March 2023, she received a call from the police and they informed her that they had arrested a man in possession of his husband’s vehicle with registration number ASN 939.
She furthered that she went to the police and met the accused who told the police in an interview that the vehicle had been given to him by one Emmanuel.
According to her, on the 17th of April, she was called by the Officers at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who told her that the body of a male had been found at Foo-foo water community in Waterloo.
At the scene, she said the wife of the accused was interrogated, and she said that her husband killed Mr. Bangura. The accused admitted same and further confessed it was one Mr. Michael Simbo that had brought the lecturer for ritual sacrifice.
Madam Ya-Alimany added that on the 18th of March 2023 herself and her in-laws and family members in the company of the police went to the same community with a Pathologist, and that photos were taken of the 3 rooms and a parlour apartment belonging to the accused where the body had been buried. She revealed that the body was then exhumed and taken to the mortuary at Connaught Hospital for postmortem examination the following day.
She testified that the Doctor had told them at the hospital that body parts had been removed from the corpse.
Kalokoh, the accused had no lawyer representing him so he had to cross examine the witness himself.
He revealed that he had told the police that it was Michael Simbo, a staff of Immigrations Department and his second wife who had jointly brought Kabbah Bangura to him for a ritual sacrifice.
He said he agreed to perform the ritual for Le 400,000,000 which Simbo agreed to pay, a payment which he added was never made. He furthered that he was taken from CID to “Benghazi” [the Headquarters of the Operational Support Division of the Sierra Leone Police at Kingharman Road in Freetown]. He also said that Michael Simbo had bribed the police Le 120,000,000 to be granted bail and asked the court whether as a licensed herbalist he should remain arrested while the person who contracted him to do the killing “is walking freely.”
He also said that Micheal Simbo is on bail while he is being punished.
At this stage the matter was adjourned to the 12th of June 2023 for further hearing.
Police Inspector Kadie M. Taylor is prosecuting the matter, and lawyer Randy Bangura Esq is associating with the prosecution.