One of the High Court judges of Sierra Leone Hon Justice Adrian Fisher of the High has last Thursday 31 August, 2023, sentenced Fatmata Kamara to twenty-four years imprisonment for killing and dumping her own baby in a toilet pit. The convict, Kamara, was charged with one count of charge murdered contrary to law.
The charge was read and explained to her, to which she pleaded guilty.
The particular of offence stated that the convict, Fatmata Kamara, on 20 October, 2019, in Freetown, in the Western Area of the Republic of Sierra Leone, unlawfully killed her child and dumped the new born in a toilet pit.
In his quick submission, State Prosecutor S. C. Kekura told the court that they have made application of the side murdered trial to be changed to man slaughter, which had been amended, especially with the statement of the ofence.
Kekura informed that court that when the convict was pregnant, she was aware that the pregnancy belonged to a man.
The lawyer said the convict tried to get rid of the pregnancy for so numerous times. He disclosed that during the period, she felt to use the toilet to do the act upon dumped the baby in the toilet pit and abandoned him.
State counsel furthered that a neighbour heard the baby crying from the pit and rescued him.
He said the neighbour took the child to the hospital for twenty-one days, but eventually the baby passed away.
In his pled mitigation, defence counsel I. Bangura said her client was distressed of the pregnancy that she has for husband. She added that it was late at night the convict felt to use the toilet.
Lawyer Bangura told the court that the convict used some native pills to herself to get rid of the pregnancy and during which the child came out and she eventually dumped him into the toilet pit, which he later died.
Having heard both counsel submissions, hon Justice A. Fisher told the convict that the case is very serious and assured that he would to treat it with the utmost seriousness it deserves.
Justice Fisher said the convict ought not to have done what she did by dumping her baby in to a toilet pit.
He said there was much better and many options to give the child to whoever wanted him.
Conclusively, Hon Justice Adrian Fisher sentenced, the convict, Fatmata Kamara to twenty-four years imprisonment.
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