By Saio Marrah
Staff Sergeant Alhaji Koroma who was among 27 soldiers facing a court martial in connection with the 26 November 2023 attempted coup, is now serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to nine out of 20 count charges levelled against him. The state dropped 11 other counts before the court martial proceeded to hand down the sentence on Monday 25 March 2024.
The president of the court martial, Col Lawrence K. Jabati told the convict that he was the first among the accused to plead guilty to some of the offences and that he deserved severe punishment including for administrative issues. He said the punishment was reduced because he did not waste the time of the court.
Judge Advocate; Mark Ngegba said the decision came after taking into consideration the closing statements by the defence and prosecution, and the plea of mitigation by the convict.
Earlier, lawyer Jessie Jengo acting for the convict urged the court martial to temper justice with mercy because the convict did not waste the time of the court. He said his client joined the military in 1992 at the age of 22 and had been loyal to the nation even during the war. Jengo pointed out that the convict earned his first promotion as Lance Corporal while working with one of the seven members of the court martial and gained further promotion to the rank of a staff sergeant.
Lawyer Jengo said his client confessed because he believes that only the truth will set him free and that he found himself in this situation because he followed instructions from some of his superiors and asked that convict be given a second chance to be able to take care of his 11 children.
In his plea mitigation, convict Koroma told the court martial that he was used by other people to commit the act, noting that he had always been a disciplined soldier. Fighting back tears, Koroma asked his wife Aminata who was in the public gallery for forgiveness and to beg their children to forgive him for his action.
State Prosecutor, Joseph A.K. Sesay said the offences for which the convict pleaded guilty to were serious and urged the court martial to put sentiments aside when passing the sentence and told the convict that “as you reflect on the day of the incident, let your sentence send a message to the rest of the world that Sierra Leone will not tolerate what happened on November 26”.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (28/03/24)
