By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Graphic new details have emerged from the murder of the 22-year-old IPAM student, Namisa Fatmata Kamara whose remains were found in a shallow grave at the premises of the Bobani-Browns at Sumaila Town on 9 August 2022 after she had gone missing on 1 August.
Namisa’s uncle, Gerald Magba Kargbo told Politico that her body was found without the facial epidermis – the thin outer layer of her skin – and with her eyes gouged out; so she had to be buried with a plastic tied on her face.
He also stated that the postmortem result had shown that her ribs were dislocated and that she had been sexually abused and strangulated.
Kargbo said that when he was told about the disappearance of her niece, he insisted that the Bobani-Brown’s compound be searched thoroughly since it was her last known place, so he was not surprised that her body would later be found there. He said that there was no trace of any forced entry to the premises, which would have ascertained that someone had broken into the compound.
He said that he suggested to the police to investigate the owner of a house nearby whose CCTV cameras were very close to the Bobani-Brown’s compound, arguing that if the cameras were pointing to the streets then it showed that was of public interest. He however said that the police lead investigator, Cecilia Cole waved off the suggestion on the grounds it was private property.
He later found out that “a lawyer boyfriend” of Sonia Bobani-Brown, whose name we are withholding, visited the compound on two occasions whilst the Bobani-Browns were in police custody, to collect unknown items in plastic bags.
Kargbo said that the said boyfriend only stopped visiting the house after a youth in the neighbourhood threatened to set his car on fire if he went back there.
“One of the youths around alerted us that he had seen…the boyfriend leaving the compound and that he was ready to give testimony in court if the need arose,” Kargbo went on.
He said that the police told them some time ago that out of the four pieces of evidence they were looking out for, they had gotten three, but that they refused to disclose them. He suggested to them to contact the National Telecommunications Authority (NATCA) to ascertain who was using the deceased’s phone, a suggestion he also said the police gave deaf ears to.
He feared that the police had not been sincere with them, and accused the law officers’ department of protecting Sonia since she is a lawyer. This is an allegation both Sonia and the Director of Public Prosecution have vehemently denied. The DPP, Easmon Ngakui had advised the police criminal investigations department since August last year on what to do in terms of evidence-gathering before charging, something the police have still not done, saying the cyber unit was yet to get back to them.
Kargbo accused the police and the CID boss in particular of “playing game” around the case, saying a similar matter at Sky Bank had been expedited and charged to court. He claimed that the justice system was not taking their case seriously because they are poor.
Sonia Bobani-Brown, a suspect in the matter, had also accused the police of neglect. Denying the allegations against her family, she said the matter had dragged on for too long without having been charged to court. She also cited a similar example of a Sky Bank manager’s alleged murder case in which she said evidence was speedily collected and the matter charged to court.
With tears on her cheek and denying any wrongdoing, Sonia also called for a thorough and speedy investigation so that whosoever killed Namisa and buried her in their compound would be found and prosecuted.
According to police at the CID, the matter was stuck at the Cyber Unit for call logs and other telecoms evidence before it can be concluded.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (13/03/23)
