Following the alleged murder of former Fourah Bay College (FBC) lecturer Kabba Santigie Bangura, wife of the deceased Rosaline Ya-alimany Bangura has on Monday 5th June 2023 testified before Magistrate Marke Ngegba of the Pademba Road Magistrate Court No.1 in the incident leading to her husband’s death involving a herbalist Ibrahim Mohamed Kalokoh.

The accused, Ibrahim M. Kalokoh is standing trial on one count charge with murder contrary to law.

According to the charge sheet, it was alleged that the accused Ibrahim M. Kalokoh
on Monday 6th March 2023 Newton Water murdered Kabba Santigie Bangura.

Led in evidence by Police Kadie M. Taylor, PW1, Mrs Rosaline Ya-Alimamy Bangura, a nurse residing in the Leicester Road community said Kabba Santigie Bangura was her husband for 29 years and that he fathered four kids, all boys.

She recognized the accused, Ibrahim M. Kalokoh, and recalled that in the morning hours (4-5am) of Monday 6th March, after dropping the children off at the FBC Primary School, when her husband did not return home as usual, she called him to find out why but the number rang endlessly and no one responded.

She said she continued calling the number until the next day but was still in futility. It was at that point that she said she reached out to her in-laws to report her missing husband. The family she said mounted a search which also ended up in futility until 10th March when they made an official report at the Central Police Station.

She said on the 15th of March 2023, she received a call from the police saying they have arrested a man in possession of his husband’s vehicle with registration number ASN 939.

She continued that she went to the police station and met Ibrahim Mohamed Kalokoh, the accused, who told the police in an interview that the vehicle was given to him by one Emmanuel.

According to her, on 17th April, she was called by the CID who informed her that a male body had been found at Foofoo Water community in Waterloo.

At the scene, she said the accused’s wife was interrogated and she admitted that her husband had killed Kabba Mohamed Bangura. The accused later admitted the same and further confessed that it was one Mr. Michael Simbo who had brought the lecturer to him for a ritual sacrifice.

Madam Ya-Alimany added that on the 18th of March 2023, she and her in-laws and family members in the company of the police went to the same community with the pathologist where they took photos of the 3 rooms and a parlor belonging to the accused The body was buried, adding that they exhumed the body and took it to the Connaught hospital mortuary for post mortem examination the following day, adding that the doctor told them at the hospital that body parts were removed from her husband.

Meanwhile, the accused had no lawyer representing him. In his cross-examination, he made revealing statements rather than questions.

He said he told the police that it was Michael Simbo a staff of the Sierra Leone Immigration and his second wife that jointly brought Kabba Bangura to him for the ritual sacrifice. He said he agreed with Simbo to be paid NLe400,000 for the job, a payment he said was never made, adding he taken from Benghazi because Michael Simbo had allegedly bribed the police Le120 million (NLe120,000) to be granted bail, which led him to ask the court if as a licensed herbalist, he should remain arrested while the person who contracted him walked away freely. He also said that Michael Simbo is still on bail while he is being punished.

After hearing from both sides, Magistrate Marke Ngegba adjourned the matter to 12th, June 2023 for further hearing.