By FeimaSesay
The May 2021 Criminal sessions was yesterday presided over by Justice AlusineSesay of the high court of Sierra Leone where seventy-six cases are set for trial by a commital form signed by both the accused persons and the Magistrates at the Magistrate Court.
The cases ranging from murder, robbery with aggravation, wounding with intent, malicious damage amongst others.
This year Criminal sessions wounding with intent tops the chart of sixteen cases followed by twelve cases of robbery, eight cases of Murder, five cases of fraudulent conversation, five cases of house breaking and larceny, shop breaking and larceny, burglary, conspiracy, sexual penetration amongst others.
During the sessions, BockarieQuee was standing trial before the Judge on a count of Larceny of cattle.
It was alledge that the accused on 5th September 2020 in Freetown stole a goat valued one million, five hundred thousand Leones.
Shortly after the charge was put to him, the accused pleaded not guilty of the offence.
Defense Counsel Cecilia Tucker made an application for bail on behalf of the accused that he is a first time offender and he has been in custody since the inception of the matter.
State prosecutor Joseph Sesay in reply leaves it at the bench discretion on the application made by defense counsel for bail.
Justice AlusineSesay granted the accused two million leones bail and one surety in like sum and the surety should be resident in the Western area.
Bail should be approved by the Master and Registrar of the High Court.
The Matter was allocated to Justice Augustine Musa for hearing and was adjourned to the 24 May 2021.
Parliament Presents Certificate of Maturity on 2021 Census
The leadership of the Sierra Leone Parliament today presented the certificate of maturity on the Census Order 2021 to His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, a day after it effectively became law by effluxion of time.
The Clerk of Parliament, Hon. Paran Umar Tarawallie, recalled that on 19 April 2021 the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice laid on the table of the well a document entitled “The Census Order 2021, The Census Act No.14 of 2002, and Statutory Instrument No.4 of 2021.”
He said the document has now gone through the maturity stage of 21 days and on 10 May it matured into law, disclosing that the certificate was a testament of the Census Order of 2021 that had now matured into law.
Presenting the certificate to President Bio, Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Dr. AbassBundu, said he was honoured, on behalf of parliament, to present the statutory instrument of the census order 2021, adding that by presenting the document they would have answered questions and other speculations regarding the legality or otherwise of the census.
In his statement, the President thanked the Speaker and other Members of Parliament, on behalf of his government, for following the process and requirement of the statutory instruments, adding that as a law-abiding nation they were obliged to follow the rules of the land.
Criminal Sessions hearing…
26 Yrs. Old Discharge
By FeimaSesay
Justice AlusineSesay on Monday 17 May 2021 during the criminal session discharged one AbdulKarimKamara and ordered him to pay the complainant the sum of eight hundred and forty-five thousand Leones.
The accused was arrainged on a count of malicious damage contrary to section 51 of the malicious damage act of 1951.
It was alledge by police that the accused on 8 August 2019 at Freetown maliciously damaged a steel door value eight hundred thousand Leones and one box tile value forty-five thousand Leones all to the sum of eight hundred and forty-five thousand Leones property of the complainant Emmanuel Aiah.
The accused pleaded guilty to the offence.
State prosecutor Joseph Sesay states that the accused has pleaded guilty and he is asking the bench to accept his plea and should be sentence accordingly.
He said that the accused went through a preliminary investigation at the Magistrate Court and was committed to the High Court for trial.
The commital warrant of the accused was tendered in court and was Mark as exhibit A.
Cecilia Tucker in her plea mitigation on behalf of the accused pleaded with the judge to temper Justice with mercy and said that the accused has not wasted the time of the court.
She said the accused is a first time offender and has never been put on bail.
State prosecutor Joseph Sesay told the court that the accused was at first charge with the offence of burglary but in March 2020 the charge was change to malicious damage that was why he was not granted bail because of the first charge.
Joseph further that the penalty for such an offence is two years imprisonment with an alternative of life imprisonment.
Justice AlusineSesay said that the accused has been in custody from 2019 and has even sur pass his sentencing.
He discharged the accused and made an order that the accused should pay the said money to the complainant within thirty days.
In another development, SorieKamara also made his first appearance before the Judge at the criminal session and was remanded in custody.
The accused was charged on two counts of conspiracy, shop breaking and larceny all contrary to the laws of Sierra Leone.
The charge sheet states that the accused on 4 May 2020 in Freetown conspired together with other person’s unkown to commit a felony to wit shop breaking and larceny.
The charge sheet further that the accused on the same day broke and enter into the shop of Amadu Saw and stole three techno mobile Cannon phones valued six million leonesand other valuable properties that sum up to thirty-eight million, eight hundred and seventy thousand Leones properties belonging to Amadu Saw the complainant.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the offence.
Defense counsel Cecilia Tucker made an application for bail on behalf of the accused but was refused bail by the judge on the grounds that the offence is a very serious one.
The accused was remanded in custody and the matter was assigned to Justice Sulaiman Bah for hearing on the 24 May 2021.
Judge Issues Bench Warrant for 45 Jurors
Supreme Court judge, Hon. Justice AlusineSesay presiding over the May High Court Criminal Sessions in Freetown has today issued bench warrant for forty five (45) jurors for what he referred to as ‘negligence to civic duty.’
Addressing jurors at the beginning of the session, Justice Sesay admonished them that their service is constitutional and civic which they must be proud to do and must be treated with the seriousness it deserves.
The Supreme Court Judge stressed that jury service is part and parcel of the administration of justice, adding that any lapse on the part of jurors will serve as an impediment to justice for which he said the court has the power to issue a warrant of arrest for non-compliant jurors.
Hon. Justice Sesay reiterated that what has been a commonplace in jury service is the bad attitude of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies and their representatives in assisting the course of justice. This, according to him, has largely dented the image of other compliant institutions as well as productive jurors.
He added that amid calls for the disbarment of the jury service, he personally believes the problem would still not be addressed and therefore calls for the issuance of warrant of arrest to defaulting jurors to serve as example to others.
In related development, criminal subpoenas were issued against five institutions; Ministry of Sports, Leocem, Dangote, G. Shankerdas and sons and Pearl Restaurant and Hotel who failed to answer the Judiciary’s call to send jurors for this May Criminal Sessions.
The criminal sessions officially commenced with 76 cases ranging from conspiracy, murder, wounding with intent, robbery with aggravation, malicious damage, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and sexual penetration among others. This is the first time for such sessions to hold with only one case of Sexual Penetration indicating a success in the establishment of the Sexual Offences Model Court.
Most accused persons arraigned before the court pleaded not guilty to the offences charged and were assigned to trial judges.
26-year-old Abdul KarimKamara alias Benzema was cautioned and discharged after he pleaded guilty to the count of malicious damage and having spent about two years at the correctional center.
Accused persons John Kamara and Andrew Jabati Panda pleaded guilty to the offences of larceny and Hon. Justice Sesaydiffered their judgment to 18th May 2021.
KINGHO PRESIDENT JETS IN LUNGI
President of Kingho Energy Group, Colin Ding has said he is very happy to come to Sierra Leone and will do more in creating more investment opportunities in the country.
Mr Ding made this statement in the early hours of Tuesday 18th May 2021on his arrival at the Freetown International Airport, where he is leading a group of investors from the People’s Republic of China to review the progress of the current Kingho projects across the country.
On arrival, the President of Kingho Energy Group said he is very happy to see that Sierra Leone has controlled the COVID-19 pandemic based on the robust and efficient leadership of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio.
In addition, the President of Kingho Energy Group said that he is also very happy to see the massive progress of the Kingho projects in Sierra Leone which he attributed to the love and support the people and Government of Sierra Leone have rendered to the company. He said that the support from Sierra Leone is what serves as the basis of them as investors considering more investment into the country.
Thus he said that he is pretty much optimistic that their coming and further deliberation with the government of Sierra Leone will open more pathways for investment opportunities in the country and he hopes that based on the support given to the company so far, they as investors will give in their very best in achieving the vision of the mining sector of Sierra Leone.
Kingho Investment Company Limited is the parent company of Kingho Mining Company Limited and Kingho Railway and Port Company Limited.
Kingho Mining Company and Kingho Railway & Port Company acquired a Large-Scale Mining License to operate in Sierra Leone. Government of Sierra Leone officially handed over the New Tonkolili Iron Ore Mining site to Kingho Mining Co Ltd on 23rd September 2020 whilst they signed the Lease Agreement for the railway with Kingho Railway and Port Co. Ltd on 8th January 2021, respectively.
Kingho Mining Company Limited, a subsidiary company, is to undertake mining at the New Tonkolili Iron Ore Mines in Sambaia, Dasogoia and Simiria chiefdoms of Tonkolili District, Northern Province of Sierra Leone, whilst Kingho Railway and Port Company Limited as another subsidiary company operates the 192 kilometer railway which leads from the New Tonkolili Iron Ore Mines to the Port town of Pepel, in Kamasondo Chiefdom, Port Loko District.
The mines, railway and port all started official operation in early March 2021.
PUBLIC REVIEW ARTICLE
Africans, Keep Your Culture and Your Culture Will Keep You.
By Reno Omokri
Unknown to many people, China was colonised. More known to many is the fact that India was also colonised. But they kept their language. They changed names of their towns back to original pre-colonial names. They kept their culture. Now, that culture is making them greater than their colonisers. Africa must learn from them
The truth is that those who abandon their CULTURE will eat leftovers like a VULTURE. Africans have abandoned their culture. And not only have we abandoned our cultures, we are proud of it. An African can travel to Dubai for a week and return with an American accent. Such is the miraculous power of the average African.
We must stop being proud of our English and French accents. As I said earlier, China and India were colonised, yet they resisted English. Today, Mandarin and Hindustan are Earth’s most popular languages.
The idea of a Black African knowing and speaking only English, French, Spanish, Portuguese or any other European language is not a function of intelligence, no matter how well he speaks it. It is a function of colonialism. Learn your native African language. Speak it. Teach it to your children. Bear your African name. Patiently teach it to your European friends. If they pretend not to be able to pronounce it, remind them that they can pronounce Arnold Schwarzenegger!
Do not go to Europe or America and change your African name to a Western name because someone told you it sounds weird. Correct them. Say ‘my name is exotic, not weird’. This same people can pronounce a Chinese name without vowels because China has money!
Arnold Schwarzenegger
SokratisPapastathopoulos
Saoirse Ronan
Mia Wasikowska
Zach Galifianakis
Gina Lollobrigida
KepaArrizabalaga
César Azpilicueta
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Tomasz Kuszczak
WojciechSzczęsny
Those are the real hard to pronounce names. Your African name is not nearly as hard to pronounce as these names. If they pronounce them, they can pronounce yours. Keep it!
God bless late Patrick Ityohegh former DG of the NTA, who while schooling in the US refused pressures to change his surname. He would teach his White colleagues to pronounce ITYOHEGH as ; “eat your head” with d being silent. Be proud of your African name!
African governments must stop the mental enslavement of young Africans to feel inferior, starting from nursery school.:
A is for Amala, Akpu, or Acha, not Apple
Mungo Park did NOT discover the source of River Niger, an anonymous African did!
Nigeria did not GAIN independence from England. Nigeria TOOK independence from Britain.
They don’t need to learn about Humpty Dumpty. We have African many nursery rhymes about crafty tortoise, and brave lions.
The extent of our brainwashing as a people is that many Africans view masquerades as evil, yet this same people love and cherish Santa Claus/Father Christmas.
African Masquerades are not tied to idol worship, as many of our people have been led to believe. Historically, African masquerades are linked to age-grade societies. The reason why women and children were often driven away when the masquerades are dressed is not because of juju. It is because the age-grade societies did not want the public to know which member is wearing the masquerade.
The rationale behind this is that the masquerade will often flog immoral persons in the community. If you know who is wearing the mask, you will know who to hold responsible later on. It is the same concept behind the hangman. The face of the person who hangs criminals is always masked.
A typical superstitious African who has never researched this will swear (we tend to be flippant), that masquerades are evil. But the truth is that age grades used them to entertain and teach morals in the society.
Meanwhile, both Santa Claus and Christmas are not Scriptural! There is nothing Christian about either Christmas or Father Christmas. Christmas used to be the celebration of pagan deity. The Catholic Church converted it to a holiday allegedly to celebrate Christ’s birth. The origin for both is in the Roman Catholic Church, not from Holy Scripture. None of Christ’s disciples celebrated Christmas. As a matter of fact, for the first 340 years of Christianity, there was nothing like Christmas or Santa Claus.
Take Nigeria as an example. Named by a Latin speaking White girlfriend of Frederick Lugard (we still annoyingly use Lord Lugard for that common mercenary. Yes, he was a mercenary. He killed Black people for money!). 106 years later, Nigeria still bears a name Flora Shaw claimed meant Niger Area. Niger is the Latin word for Black, from which N*gger comes from. In Flora Shaw’s mind, Nigeria could have meant N*gger Area!
The town of Port Harcourt in Nigeria is an example of our colonial stupidity. First of all, Lord Harcourt notoriously did not like Black people. But more importantly, he was a known, confirmed paedophile. Please research it. This is the man Port Harcourt is named after!
Mumbai in India was renamed Bombay by the colonialists. After they kicked colonialists out, India changed the name back to Mumbai. They did this to many other Indian cities. Ghana used to be known as Slave Coast. They wisely rejected that for Ghana.
I once tweeted that the largest human-made Earth structure ever built was the ancient Benin Walls and moat. Believe it or not, Nigerians, and even Bini people accused me of lying. With perhaps the exception of Ethiopia, colonialism has messed with the Black man’s mind!
On the issue of colonialism and the Black man, let me end with this fact. At the current rate of dispersion, MOST of the languages spoken on the West African Coast will die out in 50 years or less. Without a language, a people have no taproot!
Cultural erosion is happening at the fastest rate in Africa. If I were to counsel African leaders, I would say start preserving your culture or start deserving your torture. One day at the UN, a young European will laugh at us as a culture-less people.
Africa is losing her culture, and it is affecting our youth. Look at the epidemic of rape we are having, for instance. It is because we have abandoned our culture. Premarital sex was not part of our culture. It was a taboo. But now we have rejected that culture. And so youths now have sex before marriage. The day they don’t see meat to eat, they will wrongly steal from the pot.
In his book, Arrow of God, Chinua Achebe said “unless the pns dies young, it will surely eat bearded meat”. I urge our young men to read and understand Achebe. Rape is unAfrican. Be patient. You will eat bearded meat when you marry
Do not awaken your sexual urge before it is time. Apart from rape, premarital sex is destroying the moral fabric of African nations. The sheer number of abortions in Nigeria (more than a million annually) is a testament to this. One of the most dangerous places for an African child to be in is in the womb of its mother.
And it is not just abortion. Africa disproportionately suffers from paternity fraud, when compared to other continents. In Nigeria, the US Embassy now brings in armed guards when it reads out the results of DNA test of visa applicants who apply with their children. That is how alarming it has gotten.
We must return to our African values. Yes, there were some repugnant practices in our custom, such as the killing of twins, the osu caste system in Igboland, the disinheritance of female children. But shorn off those, our traditions can be a lighthouse for us.
The West also has its repugnant customs. It is repugnant to man, God and common sense for a man to marry a man or a woman to marry a woman, but they practice it in the West. It is legal. As a matter of fact, Pete Buttigieg, the gay mayor of South Bend, almost became the Democratic Presidential candidate. He is another man’s wife!
All societies have some repugnant aspect of their culture (only God is perfect). So we should not see our culture as lower than Western culture. Africans, keep your culture!
If Africa keeps her culture, our culture will also keep us.
Too many times, Africans allow Westerners to tell them they had no written culture, not true. We carved our history in wood and metal in such intricate detail that you can recall centuries after the carving. And unlike paper or papyrus, these carvings are more durable. In any case, the 1, 2, 3 you use today is not Western. It is Arabic. Other cultures contributed to our Modern Day civilisation, and our African culture is perhaps the foundation of all civilisations.
Reno’s Nuggets
Very handsome
Very talented
Very spiritual
Very proud of Africa
Very proud of Nigeria
Very devoted to your craft
Very passionate
MajekFashek, 1963-2020. You made my youth and adulthood a joy. You will be remembered for good.
PUBLIC REVIEW SPORT
E.E LIONS SIGNS UK BASE STAR
East End Lions Football Club has signed United Kingdom (UK) based Sierra Leonean International midfielder, KhalifaJabbie on a short-term deal amid the 28-year-old’s successful international football career in Europe and across the world.
The deal with the player was signed in London after intensive negotiations with the Club. The Chairman of E.E Lions, Ambassador Anthony NavoJr had travelled to London to complete the deal with Jabbie for a record breaking amount which remains undisclosed. Many clubs had offered the player a new deal but were unwilling to match what the E.E Lions Club had on the table. E.E Lions Chairman believes Jabbie will make a great addition to the team.
The former Sierra Leonean international footballer, Junior Parade Koroma who now serves as an international agent for the Club says Jabbie’s flexibility in the field makes him unique.
Speaking to AYV Sports London, Jabbie said he was “excited about the E.E Lions project and grateful to the club’s management team.
The East End Lions Football Club was founded in 1928 and has won over 11 league titles in Sierra Leone with the most recent being the 2019 Sierra Leone Premier league. The club has represented the country in regional and continental inter-club competitions and emerged as runner-up in 1996 in the West Africa Football Union Cup.
SLFA ELECTORAL COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday May 18, 2021
UPDATE ON STATUS OF NOMINEES FOR SLFA ELECTIVE CONGRESS
VICE PRESIDENT-1 NOMINEES
The following candidates have been examined and determined as provisionally qualified subject to the Integrity Test;
1. Harold Natt-Johnson
2. Paul N. Sa’Quee v
On another note, Christian Dauda Thompson’s nomination did not meet the threshold on residency as provided for in art. 32 par. 4 of the SLFA Constitution.
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES
Further to the appeal of Rodney Michael, the Division President of CAS has decided that there is a TEMPORARY stay of execution on the SLFA Ethics Board decision which found him ineligible.
Consequently, Rodney Michael has been provisionally qualified to join IshaJohansen,Thomas Daddy Briama and SadickDeen-Nyarkoh in the category of Presidential Candidates in the upcoming SLFA elections to be held on the 4 and 5 June, 2021 until a ruling is made on his appeal at CAS.
