By Saio Marrah
An alleged victim of visa fraud, Hannah Ayawova Musa, has told the Pademba Road Magistrate Court No. 1 that she had to sell everything including chairs in a shop she had rented for two years, just to raise money for a traveling programme to New Zealand that turned out to be false.
The court heard how she in turn also rented out the shop, having already paid NLE 15,000 (Fifteen thousand new Leones) and $300 (Three hundred United States Dollars) to the first accused, Fatmata Kula Shaw (24) after she called to say her visa was ready.
The single mother of three testified on Tuesday 21st March 2023, before Magistrate Mark Ngegba, recalling how the first accused told her to hurry up and complete payment because she (witness) will be travelling on 15 February 2023.
She reportedly gave NLE 10,000 (Ten thousand new Leones) of the money she raised from the shop to the second accused Sarah Kamara who said Fatmata had gone to the provinces to open other branches of the company.
According to her, she saw the advert on Facebook about the unnamed company that claimed to be facilitating travelling to Australia.
On her arrival at their office at 89 Peninsular Road, Goderich she met only the 25-year-old second accused Sarah who told her to pay $200 as a registration fee.
The accused persons are charged with 19 counts of conspiracy contrary to law and obtaining money by false pretence.
The accused were also alleged to have collected NLE214,180 from 10 other people, and NLE20,000 from one Ibrahim Mansaray on the pretext of facilitating their travel to New Zealand.
They were also alleged to have obtained 1,000 United States Dollars from Anaphew Alhaji Jalloh on the pretext that they would facilitate his travel to New Zealand as well.
The two young women were granted bail after Lead Defence Lawyer, Musa Mewa applied for such, saying when first arrested they were granted bail by Police and pointed out that they did not violate the bail conditions.
He also noted that the accused persons are mere young people that just graduated from university seeking out jobs.
According to him, they were only on probation period in the company and state institutions failed to apprehend the big fish but instead went in for the small fish.
They were granted their bail with one surety each with NLE100,000 worth of property in Freetown and that the sureties should be holders of the new National ID card.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (22/03/23)
