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The Siaka Stevens High Court No. 8 on Thursday heard crucial testimony from prosecution witness Inspector Abubakar Kargbo in the ongoing murder trial of Joseph Mendel Lamin, popularly known as “Manager,” Morlai Kamara, and Umaru Timbo, alias “Boyka.” The accused are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder in connection with the death of journalist Samuel Brima Mattia.
Inspector Kargbo, an investigator with ten years of service at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Pademba Road, identified both the complainant and the defendants before outlining the steps taken during the investigation. He told the court that on 17 January 2025, he received a transfer case file containing a voluntary caution statement from the first accused and several exhibits, including a Dell laptop, the deceased’s black backpack, four lifting weights, two sticks, a large white sack resembling a rice bag, a yellow rubber bucket with a substance suspected to be human blood, and a long cable.
He said the suspected blood sample was sent for forensic analysis, though the formal report was yet to be provided. The forensic analyst, he added, would testify when required.
Inspector Kargbo further explained that on 18 January 2025, he and Inspector P.A. Mackieu visited the crime scenes the Voice of Peace and Development (VOPAD) Station in Kissy Town, Waterloo, and the Sierra Leone Correctional Services Center. At the VOPAD location, they observed severed cables and an area resembling a waste receptacle where the deceased was allegedly bound with the sack and cable.
On 20 January 2025, he and Inspector Mackieu obtained a voluntary caution statement from the first accused in Krio, later translated into English and thumbprinted by the accused. The court admitted the statement into evidence. The second and third accused were arrested later the same day, and their statements were obtained in a similar manner. The completed case file was forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Inspector Kargbo stated that he formally charged the first accused with conspiracy and murder on 7 February 2025. The second and third accused were charged the following day, and their charge statements were also tendered in court.
Additional exhibits brought before the court included a postmortem report dated 20 January 2025, a memory stick containing private conversations between the deceased and the first accused, and a request to the cyber unit for expert analysis. He reiterated that the suspected blood sample was already with forensic analysts.
Justice Mark Ngegba adjourned the matter to 11 December 2025 after cross-examination by defense counsel Musa Beretay Esq. All three accused remain remanded at the Male Correctional Centre in Freetown as the trial continues.
