In the High Court presided over by Justice John Bosco Alieu, Tenneh Brima was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for killing her two-year-old daughter, Sai Sitta Kamara, as alleged by state counsel, Alberta Kargbo on October 30th, 2020 in Freetown.

Justice Alieu summarized the case, stating that the prosecution called three witnesses to prove the guilt of the accused.

The first witness was the uncle of the convict, Mathew Brima, who testified that he saw Tenneh with the child tied to her back before they left.

Later, an unknown person called him to inform him of the incident. When he arrived at the scene, he found the baby wrapped in a mat, and inquired about what had happened with the baby. He was told that the wrapper of the convict got loosed while trying to cross a stream, and the baby fell into the water. The autopsy report confirmed that the baby died of normal wet drowning with no physical assault.

In her defense, the convict stated that she left the house while undergoing stressful situations with her uncle’s wife, whom she had accused of being a witch.

She reiterated what her uncle had told the court, stating that the baby got heavier on her back while crossing the river, and she tried to remove the baby from her back, but the baby slipped and drowned in the water.

She said she looked for the baby for nearly 3 minutes, found her, and rushed her to a medical doctor for a check-up. The doctor informed her that the baby had died.

After giving his summary, Justice Allieu asked the jurors to examine the evidence and return their verdict.

After 30 minutes, the jurors returned with a guilty verdict, which shocked everyone in the courtroom.

Justice Allieu asked the jurors twice if they agreed on their verdict, and they replied in the affirmative. Consequently, Tenneh Brima was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for killing her daughter.