By Haja Adama Kamara.
Nine accused persons, who were charged in relation to Semen Ghana Construction Company theft case, have been sent back to the Male Correctional Center at Pademba Road after they made their second appearance before Magistrate Sahr Keikura of Court No. 1 along Pademba Road in Freetown on Tuesday, 18th May 2021.
Police alleged that Mohamed Bah, Thomas Manu, Sulaiman Koroma, Gibril Jalloh, Mohamed Lamin Koroma, and Amara Kallon, between the 1st January 2019 and 15th April 2021, in Port Loko District in the Northern part of Sierra Leone, did steal several items, including the company vehicles, air conditioners, generators, tires, among others, all of which are property of Semen Ghana Construction Company, while they were in the possession of one Michael Mainoo.
Police slammed two counts charge of conspiracy to commit a crime, to wit larceny, contrary to law, and a larceny charge contrary to Section 2 of the Larceny Act of 1916 on all the accused persons.
The First prosecution witness, Michael Mainoo, a road contractor Cyaim Ghana Construction Company Limited, recognized the accused persons in the dock.
He said he came to know the first accused in this matter; the second accused was identified as his head security at his construction company in Port Loko, while the third accused is also a security man, as well as the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eight, and nine.
He recalled on a date between 1st January and the 15th April 2021 when the company had a contract to build roads in Port Loko, Lunsar and Kambia.
After the end of the contract, the company hadn’t any other job, so they had to park all their equipment in one compound.
He disclosed that the second to ninth accused who were security men for the compound had the equipment in their care. `Since we hadn’t any work, Mainoo said, he had to move to town.โ He added that sometime in January 2021, he received a text message from one Mohamed Bah who is the first accused in respect of the renting of one bulldozer.
He further explained to the court that he responded that he was not interested in renting any of the equipment. In February 2021, I received a phone call from Sierra Leone that some the company’s equipment were being taken out without my consent. “I called Momoh Conteh who is my personal driver in Sierra Leone, and I asked him to check at the compound to ascertain if what I heard was true, and it was confirmed that the aforementioned bulldozer was not in the compound,” he went on.
Mainoo said he asked about the where about of the second accused, and when I got him through the phone, but he was not in the compound. Mainoo went on to say that he later learnt that the said machine was on a site in Kambia, adding that he sent Momoh, his personal driver who confirmed that the machine was indeed in Kambia. Mainoo said he contacted a friend to intervene on his behalf, noting that he was a friend of Gento Construction Company. “After almost two weeks, the machine was taken back to the compound,” he revealed.
He said a day after the machine got to the compound in Port Loko; he received another phone call from Sierra Leone, and was told that the caterpillar was also missing. “Upon hearing this, Mainoo said he prepared to visit to Sierra Leone. On the 11th April 2021, I came to Sierra Leone,โ he narrated.
โThe following day I decided to visit the site to see what was obtained there. On my way to the site, I got a phone call from the ninth accused who told me he was on night duty when he saw a truck entering the compound. Four of the accused persons were on duty, but when they saw the trucks they ran into the bush to seek shelter,” he explained.
Mainoo revealed that on that night, he learnt a 900 KVA generator valued at over $300,000 USD, equivalent to over Three Billion One Hundred and Fifty Million Leones had been stolen. “I visited the MSCU Yard, but upon visiting the two sites, I realized that it was not only the caterpillar and the 900 KVA generator that were missing, but several other items which amounted to billions of Leones,” he said. He noted that the accused persons were all on duty during the time of the alleged theft.
Mainoo revealed that he later retrieved some of the items and reported the matter to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). “The CID officers arrested the second to the ninth accused in Port Loko,” Mainoo disclosed. He said he and the fourth accused went to Bumbuna where the caterpillar machine was discovered and is currently in the custody of the police. “The fourth accused told me that he rented the caterpillar to the first accused.
ASP Mansaray, at this stage requested for an adjournment for him to have a proper conference with the witness. Defense counsel, Lawyer Mansaray renewed his application for bail. He told the Magistrate that he had credible sureties who will ensure that the accused persons are produced at all time.
Magistrate Sahr Kekura said he will consider bail when the complaint’s testimony has been tested through cross examination. He sent all accused persons to remand at the Male Correctional Facility on Pademba Road, and he adjourned the matter to 20th May 2021.
