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The Magistrate Court in Freetown has heard harrowing testimony from 28-year-old Jamilatu Koroma, whose life was shattered after her stepson doused her face with caustic soda, leaving her permanently blind in one eye.
According to her account, the incident occurred on April 3, 2025, at their Baw-Baw residence.
She told the court that after returning home from work, she gave her stepson, 18-year-old Abu Bakarr Koroma, NLe 5 and her phone to purchase airtime. Later that evening, she awoke to find him switching the light on and off, armed with a knife and a stick.
Before she could react, he allegedly pushed her down and emptied a substance onto her face. “I cried out, saying, ‘You have killed me,’ because of the pain,” Mrs. Koroma testified.
The attack caused severe burns, and doctors confirmed that she lost sight in her right eye as a result. The victim further recounted that the young man threatened her with a knife, demanded money, and attempted to sexually assault her.
Magistrate Solomon Christian Kekura, ruling on September 17, 2025, sentenced the accused to four years in prison on two counts of domestic violence and sexual harassment. He also committed him to the High Court on a charge of grievous bodily harm, given the gravity of the injuries inflicted on his stepmother.
The court was told that the trauma Mrs. Koroma endured extended beyond the physical, leaving her scarred and fearful in her own home.
In delivering judgment, Magistrate Kekura emphasized that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He noted that while sexual offences fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court, the current convictions reflect the seriousness of the violence committed.
