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Abass Kazam, a diplomat and businessman who serves as a consultant for Guinea-Bissau in Sierra Leone testifies before Magistrate Santigie Bangura of Pademba Road Magistrate Court No: 2 in Freetown against seven Lebanese Nationals.
Ali Jaffal, Abdul Jaffal, Mohamed Jaffal, Abass Antar, Naif Antar, and Hassan Jaffal appeared before the court for the eighth time on Wednesday, 20th November 2024, on seven count charge, including allegations of wounding, assault affray, throwing missiles, and disorderly behavior.
The charge sheet alleged that the accused persons engaged in an unlawful incident on Saturday, 6th April 2024, at the Young Sports Club (YSC) facility on Wilkinson Road, Freetown.
Prosecutors allege that the accused maliciously wounded Adam Hamdan and Mohamed Aroune, assaulted them, and engaged in behavior intended to incite fear in the public. The indictment further accuses “the defendants of throwing stones and sticks during the altercation and behaving disorderly.
State Prosecutor Yusif Isaac Sesay, Esq., led the ninth prosecution’s witness, Abass Kazam,
According to the Prosecutor witness, he was familiar with all the accused individuals and recounted events leading up to and during the April 6 incident.
He recalled receiving a call from Hassan Jaffal informing him about a fight involving the second accused, Abdul Jaffal, at the YSC complex.
Upon arriving at the scene, Kazam described encountering chaos, with people running in different directions.
At the basketball court, however, he observed confusion but no active fighting.
According to Kazam, police officers, including LUC Mohamed Turay from Lumley Police Division, arrived shortly after and ordered the gates to be closed. Kazam successfully pleaded for women and children to be allowed to leave the premises, and his request was granted.
The LUC then demanded that those involved in the fight surrender.
Kazam confirmed that five of the accused persons were present and were handed over to the police. Later, the fifth and sixth accused were also brought forward. Kazam stated that an Operational Support Division (OSD) officer handed a pistol to the LUC, though he was unsure of its origin.
Following the events at YSC, the accused were taken to the Lumley Police Station, where statements were recorded.
Magistrate Santigie Bangura adjourned the matter to November 27, 2024, for further hearings. The accused remain on bail pending the continuation of the trial.
