By Saio Marrah
The second prosecution witness, in a summary trial for larceny and trespass involving an Indian national identified in court as Karmish, has told a magistrate court in Freetown that a police officer from the Operations Support Division (OSD) pointed a gun at her in her home.
Mildred Sankoh, wife of the complainant, testified before Magistrate Mark Ngegba at Pademba Road Court No.1 on Monday 30th October 2023 that after pointing his gun at her, the OSD officer ordered her (witness) to vacate her husband's shop. She said the incident happened on 26th August this year after the defendant, Karmish, earlier met her at the shop and enquired about her husband’s whereabouts and she told him that her husband had travelled.
According to her, the defendant also told her to pay for the goods, which he (the defendant) had supplied her husband but she refused because she was not instructed to do so by her husband.
The court learned from the witness that the defendant left and returned to the shop at 9 p.m. with three OSD personnel, who instructed her to move out of the shop, an order she refused to obey. She said when one of the OSD officers pointed a gun at her, commanding her to move out of the shop, “I became afraid so I went outside”, she testified.
The witness told the court that the OSD officers locked the shop and the defendant took the keys and left. She said on the following day, Sunday 27th August this year, she had gone to a naming ceremony when she received information that the defendant was back at the shop with police officers to clear the shop.
According to her, upon her arrival at the shop she saw the defendant and police officers with their truck, clearing everything in the shop and when she attempted to stop them one of the police officers again pointed a gun at her to stop her.
The witness said the defendant and the police officers cleared everything in the shop including plasma TVs, Freezers, and many other items. She said they produced no court order authorizing them to clear the shop.
The defendant, Karmish, a resident of 10 Sani Abacha Street in Freetown is charged with two counts of larceny and trespass, contrary to law.
The particulars are that on Saturday 26th August this year at 13 City Road, Wellington in Eastern Freetown he stole groceries valued at (NLe 200,000) two hundred thousand New Leones and that on the same day and same place, he unlawfully entered in an insulting manner into the premises of the complainant, Alfred Richard.
The case resumes on 10th November this year.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (01/11/23)
