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Magistrate Santigie Bangura of the Pademba Road Magistrate Court No. 2 has ordered senior police officers to visit Choithram Hospital at Hill Station to confirm the hospitalization of former Minister of Finance, Patricia Laverley, who is said to be at the hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
According to the charge sheet Laverley is faceing two charges inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to Section 20 of the Offense Against the Person Act of 1861 and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
It was alleged that the accused on November 12th 2024, at State House, Freetown, assaulted Nabella Farida Tunis, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs with intent to inflict serious injury.
During a contentious session, State Counsel Yusuf Isaac Sesay contested the authenticity of a medical report presented by the defense, claiming it was fabricated to mislead the court. The report produced by Defense Counsel M. Yillah, indicated that Laverley is currently hospitalized and on oxygen support.
Sesay argued that the medical document was an “afterthought” and suggested that the defense was deceiving the court. He urged the magistrate to issue a bench warrant for Laverley’s arrest and called for the detention of her sureties, accusing them of complicity in presenting an allegedly valid document.
In his response to the prosecutor, Defense Counsel Ibrahim Yillah stated that the report was genuine, bearing a hospital stamp and nature after objections rose earlier. Yillah emphasized that his client was gravely ill and within the court’s jurisdiction. He presented photos and videos as additional evidence to corroborate the hospitalization claim.
Magistrate Bangura, however, expressed scepticism, noting irregularities in the medical document, including a ştamp placed over a photocopied version. He criticized the defense for not treating the matter with sufficient seriousness.
Despite Yillah’s assurances that the defense was acting in good faith, Magistrate Bangura rejected the defense’s application to maintain bail conditions and warned of potential consequences if the hospitalization claim proved false.
The court ordered two senior police officers to accompany the defense team to verify Laverley’s hospitalization status. If the former minister is not found at the hospital, she is to be arrested and brought to court.
The matter was adjourned to Wednesday, November 27, 2024, for further hearing.
21/11/2024. Physically assaulting any Minister of Government anywhere confirms incredible disrespect and lawlessness because the current government of Sierra Leone does not itself respect The Rule of Law ; nothing to be surprised about. The primary source of all these is the sitting President himself – President Julius Maada-Bio; our Sierra Leone is reaping what he sowed. Seton During.