John Richard Conteh, the House help of Morris Mustapha has made his first appearance before Magistrate Mark Ngegba of the Pademba Road Magistrate Court in Freetown.

Conteh is standing trial for theft after he was arrested on allegations of stealing his Employer’s wife’s jewelry and personal belongings.

Fact of the matter shows that the employer who is a tailor employed the accused as a cleaner and allowed him to stay with them at their residence in Goderich. However, the cleaner turned out to be stealing from them, particularly from his wife’s room.

Giving a brief explanation about the matter, the employer disclosed how he discovered in July this year, that his speaker unit had gone missing, and he questioned the accused who denied any knowledge of its whereabouts but later produced the speaker unit after intense pressure.

He furthered that he started losing trust in him and decided to investigate further. He said on July 31, 2023, he took the step to search the accused’s room while he was in church, and to his greatest surprise, he found his wife’s jewelry, several personal belongings, and other valuable items, including a briefcase, in the accused’s room.

“I called my wife and some relatives at home to witness the items in his room,” he stated, adding that he then alerted the police who swiftly arrived and arrested the accused.

The prosecution was handled by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Joan BulI. The matter was adjourned to October 16, 2023, with the accused remaining on bail.