She Was Brought to Hospital Already Dead – Nurse Testifies at Sia Kamara’s Murder Trial

A nurse at the Emergency Hospital in Freetown has testified that Sia Fatu Kamara was brought into the facility already dead, as the murder trial of accused Abdul Kpaka continued before the High Court.

Testifying through a statement tendered and read in court by police investigator Detective Inspector Adrew Nyakeh Amara, Nurse Team Lead of the Out-Patient Department, Moreta Mariatu Kamara, said that on 13 August 2024, she reported for duty at 8:05am when a security guard rushed to inform staff of an incoming emergency.

She said she immediately instructed a nurse and a cleaner to receive the patient and take her to the critical area. There, the team attached a monitor to check oxygen circulation, fixed a blood-pressure monitor, and placed an electrocardiogram on the patient’s chest to assess her heartbeat.

“I checked the pulse of the patient. It showed no sign of a pulse. I checked if the said patient was breathing and it showed no signs of breathing. Furthermore, I checked for responsiveness by tapping the shoulder of the patient; she did not respond,” her statement read.

Nurse Kamara said she called a team of doctors, and while waiting for them, the nurses began preliminary resuscitation. When the doctors arrived, they continued with CPR. According to her statement, foreign doctor Dr. Claudio instructed them to administer adrenaline and another medication intended to restart the heart and neutralise any drugs in the patient’s system.

She said that despite these efforts, the patient’s condition “remained the same,” and the medical team was instructed to stop. “Therefore, we confirmed that the patient was clinically dead and then one of the national doctors called Mr. Kpaka and told him that we had tried our best, but that they brought the patient very late because she was already dead,” the statement added.

Detective Inspector Amara, the seventh prosecution witness, told the court he was assigned the case on 14 August 2024, after collecting the file and the accused from Adonkia Police Station. On 15 August, a post-mortem request was issued, and government pathologist Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma performed the examination the next day in the presence of relatives of both the deceased and the accused. The original report was handed to the deceased’s family and a copy to the police.

The investigator also described a search conducted at the accused’s residence, carried out with a warrant, during which officers recovered a flight ticket dated 12 August 2024, a female handbag, phone accessories, and other women’s clothing. He said neighbours declined to speak to police.

He further told the court that investigators visited the Emergency Hospital, where doctors and nurses on duty at the time of the incident provided information, with some agreeing to make statements and a foreign doctor promising to produce a report.

Lead defence lawyer Emmanuel Teddy Koroma urged the court to rule on the status of the case and on bail, later explaining to Politico that the request concerned a Supreme Court ruling directing the High Court to continue the matter with a judge and jurors. The jurors had earlier been discharged under the new Criminal Procedure Act 2024.

The accused, Abdul Kpaka, faces two charges: murder and perverting the course of justice. The matter resumes on Friday, 28 November 2025.