By Saio Marrah
Schoolboy Mohamed Aroun Conteh, has appeared at the High Court in Freetown indicted for the murder of Providence school teacher, Edward Gillis Ola Johnson, his private lesson teacher.
The accused, also a pupil of Providence School appeared before Justice Monfred Sesay and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday 1st November 2023 following which the process of selecting a jury started. The accused objected to four of the 12-person jury before they could subscribe to the oath but the judge told him that he could only object to up to three of the jurors without giving a reason. He said above that the law requires the accused to provide reasons for rejection.
The accused then told the judge that he was objecting to the fourth juror - a female, because he thought she was not mature enough in terms of age and that for him, maturity counted a lot when deciding a matter like that.
Justice Monfred Sesay then told the accused that he clearly disrespected the jury because prior to their selection the court did take note of their age, maturity, and other issues. He refused to accept the rejection of the fourth juror and asked the accused to apologize to her.
The state prosecutor, Aruna Jalloh told the court that he was not prepared to address the jury in opening his case and applied for an adjournment.
Justice Sesay then urged the prosecution to make sure they bring more than one witness to the next hearing on 8th November this year saying he wanted a speedy trial.
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