By Mamajah Jalloh
A 43-year-old gardener, Saccoh Kamara, who was one of the fugitives from the Port Loko Police Station following a mass prison break during the failed coup attempt on November 26, 2023, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison by Magistrate Sahr Kekura of Pademba Road Court No. 1 in Freetown.
Kamara was recaptured on October 26, 2024, in Marinka Village, Kasseh Chiefdom, Port Loko District, by a joint team of Regional and Divisional Police personnel led by the Operations Officer, ASP Augustine Kargbo, in the North-West Region. His arrest was based on a list of wanted persons, which included Kamara’s name and photograph.
According to Sergeant Momoh Lahai, the police prosecutor, Kamara had been an inmate at the Port Loko Male Correctional Center when he, along with other inmates, escaped custody on November 26, 2023. The mass breakout occurred amidst chaos caused by the attempted coup, during which several maximum-security prisons, including the Male Correctional Center in Freetown, were broken into, allowing numerous inmates to flee. Kamara admitted to remaining within the Port Loko District throughout his time on the run until his eventual capture.
When the charge of escape from legal custody was read and explained to him in court, Kamara pleaded guilty, acknowledging his involvement in the prison escape.
In delivering his verdict, Magistrate Kekura sentenced Kamara to serve 12 months at the Male Correctional Center in Freetown, bringing his fugitive chapter to an end.
