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A High Court in Freetown has sentenced a 24-year-old woman, Kadija Kamara, to 11 months imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to eating a plate of rice and drinking a bottle of soft drink without paying at a local restaurant.
The sentence, as reported by Politico Newspaper, was handed down on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, by High Court judge Justice Mohamed Bawoh, who said he had taken into consideration the nature of the offence and the defendant’s plea for mercy before delivering the judgment.
Court proceedings revealed that Kamara had already spent 11 months on remand following her arrest in April 2025. The incident occurred at Alfisher Investment Company in Freetown.
According to Kamara’s testimony in court, she had gone to the restaurant with her boyfriend, who ordered a plate of rice and a bottle of soft drink. She said the man left shortly after the food was served, telling her he would return, but never came back.
Kamara told the court that when the restaurant management asked her to pay for the food and drink, she informed them that she had no money at the time. She was subsequently arrested and taken to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Freetown for investigation.
She further told the court that while in custody at the CID she was allegedly tortured and sustained injuries that required hospital treatment.
During sentencing, Justice Bawoh said the court had considered Kamara’s situation, including her status as a single mother with a two-year-old child and the remorse she had shown.
“The court also took into account her plea for mercy and the nature of the offence,” the judge stated. However, Justice Bawoh noted that Kamara’s statement to the police differed from the account she later presented before the court.
Her defence lawyer told the court in mitigation that the accused had not wasted the court’s time and was a first-time offender. He also said that throughout the 11 months she spent in custody, Kamara had not had access to her child and none of her relatives had visited her.
The prosecution in the matter was led by state counsel Ronissa Beverley Harteston. Court documents indicated that Kamara was indicted on one count of office breaking with intent in relation to the incident, which occurred on April 21, 2025.
Following the ruling, the court sentenced her to 11 months imprisonment. Since Kamara had already spent the same period on remand while awaiting trial, the sentence effectively covered the time she had already served in custody.
