By Saio Marrah
The Third Prosecution Witness (PW3), Martha Thoronka, in an ongoing case of grievous bodily harm with intent, has testified that her boyfriend victim, Mohamed Tarawalie’s foot got fractured when he visited her own residence.
The witness narrated before Justice Adrian Fisher at High Court No.1 in Freetown on Wednesday 7th June 2023 that it all started after the victim proposed love to her at a local festival commonly called “Tangains” held at the Sierra Leone National Stadium on the night of 23rd December 2021.
In the early morning hours of 24th December 2021, she told the court that she and her boyfriend went to her residence in Tengbeh Town.
Upon their arrival, the witness said the boyfriend victim requested intimacy with her, but that she refused. Upon that conversation, she said her brother, who also resided in the same house overheard them and came to the door saying “Martha, haven’t I warned you not to bring a boyfriend to this house?” she told the court.
By then she said the boyfriend had already taken off his trousers. She also told the court how the boyfriend told her to take out Le 20,000 old note from the pocket of his trousers and give it to his brother-the accused who now faces one count of wounding with intent causing grievous bodily harm, He refused the money.
Suddenly, she said the boyfriend ran outside whilst wearing his trousers and that she heard people shouting outside the name of the accused.
When she went out, she said she met the boyfriend sitting on the ground with a broken foot, but that the accused was not on the scene.
She also narrated how she took him to a native doctor, Pa Alimamy at Kaningo where she spent six months with the victim there.
After that, the witness said she decided to conduct an X-ray on her boyfriend’s foot at Life Care Hospital and that it was there someone told her about Masanga Hospital in Tonkolili District.
She said she also gave one million old Leones to the victim to go to Masanga Hospital. According to her, she and some of her family members later paid a total of six million old Leones for his medical bills.
The witness also told the court that she made a statement at Congo Cross Police Station about the incident six months later.
The witness said she made the statement after her boyfriend threatened to lock her up if she refused. She said, “That is because I do not want to make a statement against my own brother.”
She also told the court that the victim demanded at the police station that they as families of the accused buy him a tricycle commonly called “Keke” or a taxi because the accused had broken one of his feet.
Earlier, the defence lawyer, Randy Salieu Bangura from Legal Aid, cross-examined the second prosecution witness (PW2), Detective Inspector Zainab Sankoh, who said the victim claimed the accused was the one that chased him.
The defence questioned the PW2 if she investigated to ascertain who actually chased the victim and the witness said she asked the sister of the accused, but she could not tell either.
The defence lawyer also claimed that the accused did not hit him with a stone, but that he rather fell down, which resulted in a fractured foot.
The PW2 also admitted that it took over six months to charge the matter to magistrate court because of the accused, without explaining why it took that long.
He said a statement was obtained from the victim after the medical report of the X-ray on 11th April 2022.
The accused was granted bail and the case adjourned to next week Wednesday.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (07/06/23)
