By Henry Kargbo
The lawyer representing Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray on Thursday 8 September 2022 made a submission before Justice Taylor at the Sexual Modern Court in Freetown that Kamarainba could not appear in court because of his deteriorating health condition.Lawyer Samuel Momodu Konteh said that Kamarainba was again not in court because his health condition had got worse over the past couple of days.
He pleaded with the judge to take his submission into consideration. In response Justice Taylor said that while he considered the submission of lawyer Konteh, he said Kamarainba had pleaded with the court for him to open his defence again and if the court agreed there would be consequences on several issues even as he had fallen ill again.
Justice Taylor stated that the second accused Marion Arouni had waited for two years for the court to hear her own side of the story.
Responding to questions put to the second accused by State Counsel Umu Summary, Madam Arouni said the victim’s parents handed over the victim to her in 2019. Exhibit O1-42 was shown to the witness, which she identified as her statement that she made to the police. At page 19 of the said exhibit the court clerk read a portion in which the second accused told the police that January 2020 was the first time that Kamarainba visited her house and saw the victim and decided to pay her school fees up to university, but Marion denied saying that to the police.
Marion also denied before the court that she told the police that Kamarainba started supporting the victim in her school education in January 2020 but page 21 of her statements made to the police confirmed the allegation put to her.
Marion stated that Kamarainba started visiting his house in 2019 and she carried him to the victim’s parents and introduced him as a family friend who is helping the victim.
She confirmed that on 4 January 2020 she celebrated her daughter’s two-year birthday and on 2 February 2020 she also celebrated the victim’s fifteen-year birthday. According to her statements made to the police, she said it was Kamarainba who celebrated the victim’s birthday but she still denied remembering telling the police that.
In her statements again she said Kamarainba gave her three hundred Leones to buy school items for the victim and her children but she used the money to purchase clothes for the victim, and when that was put to her by state counsel she denied making such statement to the police.
The second accused also in her statements said that during the first lock down in April due COVID-19 she sent the victim to purchase bread but the victim did not return home until twelve midnight and based upon that she called the victim’s mother who opted that the victim should take injection to prevent unwanted pregnancy but she suggested that the victim should be given captain band instead of the injection. However, Marion insisted that she did not remember telling the police that. At this stage the prosecutor said she would leave the other questions and would submit when making her address before the court. Marion said she had another witness and would bring her to testify before the court on the next adjourned date. The matter comes up on 22 September 2022.
