On their recent appearance before Magistrate Santigie Bangura at Pademba Road Court No.2, thirty-nine-year-old businessman Joseph Abdulai Kamara and thirty-two-year-old bike rider Abdulraham Kamara were sentenced to prison on multiple charges, including conspiracy, larceny, and malicious damage.

The charges against the two men stem from an incident on Monday, September 26th, 2023, in Waterloo, Western Area, Freetown.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sorie Conteh, alleged that the accused, in collaboration with others, conspired to steal a Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance vehicle with registration number 70SL79, valued at three million three hundred thousand Leones (Le 3,300,000). The vehicle, belonging to the Sierra Leone military, was under the custody of Colonel Stephen Silvalie at the time of the theft.

During the court proceedings, the prosecutor presented witnesses to support the charges. Despite the defendants’ plea of not guilty during their first appearance, Magistrate Bangura found both men guilty on several counts after considering the evidence and the nature of the case.

On the charge of conspiracy, the first accused, Joseph Abdulai Kamara, was sentenced to five years in prison, while the second accused, Abdulraham Kamara, received a three-year sentence. Both sentences will run consecutively with their sentences for the second charge of larceny, where the first accused was again sentenced to five years, and the second accused to three years.

However, the court acquitted both defendants on the charge of malicious damage, as Magistrate Bangura did not find sufficient evidence to convict them on that count.