By Mohamed Vandi in Kenema
An officer attached to the Special Branch of the Kenema Police Station has been remanded at the Kenema state prison by Magistrate Momoh Jah Steven. Constable Desmond Lewis, who is the first accused, was arraigned alongside a nurse, Christiana Alpha for the alleged trafficking of a 7-day old boy.
Desmond and Christiana made their first and second appearances on the 25 and 26 June 2013.
The Magistrate said the accused were remanded to protect the strong possibility of interference with witnesses.
Testifying in court the prosecution witness, Beatrice Smith a social worker in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs and attached to the family support unit, said the baby was abandoned in March 2013 by his mother, Lucinda Musa at her friend's house. The friend, Isatu Koroma took the baby to the police Family Support Unit.
Beatrice said that the child was taken to the Ministry of Social Welfare where Lewis introduced himself as the biological grandfather of the abandoned child and wanted to take him in. His request was not granted with the social welfare insisting that he be with a social worker.
She said it was later discovered that the biological mother of the child was in fact serving a prison sentence at the Kenema state Prison for abandoning her child and stealing in Isatu's house.
Beatrice said that when the child later fell ill, Desmond went to her with the second accused, nurse Christiana, requesting that the child be handed over to her for medical treatment. She explained that Desmond was able to convince her and the child was duly handed over to them.
After some days, she told the court, she contacted Desmond to find out about the baby but was told that he was responding to treatment. Later when she requested to see the child, Desmond told her that the child had been taken to Freetown and that he was going to search for him.
“He returned from Freetown and said the child had been taken to Liberia where he went to bring him” Beatrice went on, adding that on his return Desmond did not bring back the child. She then reported the matter to the Family Support Unit.
There was a sigh of satisfaction in court at the “speed of the trial”. One Bockarie Saidu told Politico that Magistrate Steven had proven to be “a no-nonsense magistrate especially in matters of human interest”.
Sources at the Community Relations Department at Kenema police Station disclosed that Desmond had made his first appearance before the Police Court Martial and was to make his second later in the week.
