The High Court judge grimaced, owing to the fact that some state prosecutors were not ensuring that witness or witnesses were available for testimony on sensitive matters before court, a situation he said hindered the prosecution process as well as justice in the country.
He made it categorically cleared that the offence of murder was a very serious offence and that the state prosecution should always ensured that witnesses or witnesses were available in court, in order to proceed with backlog of murder and felonious matters awaiting or already being adjudicated by the court.
Justice Alusine Sesay made the aforementioned statement, when a matter involving a military personnel, Musa Sesay who was charge with the offence of murder, contrary to offences against the person act of 1861, of the laws of Sierra Leone was mentioned by the court registrar, on Friday 24 February 2017, adding that he had now adopted a new approach in adjudicating especially murder trials, which he said was aimed at expediting justice to whom its due.
According to Justice Sesay, come Tuesday 29 February 2017, if the state prosecution failed to bring forward witness or witnesses to testify at various murder charges preferred against accused, he had no alternative, but to grant bail to such accused person or persons, noting that the state prosecution should not hide under the canopy of the seriousness of offences bothering on murder and other felonious, but that the state prosecution should endeavor to proceed with it cases in the name of justice and fair play.
He pointed out that granting bail to accused did not imply that the accused were discharged off the offence for which he was charged to court, but that to ensure the their attendance on every adjourned date until the matter was determined by the court.
“I have my conscious and god to serve and this time round I am not prepare to entertain any situation that may appeared posing hindrances on matter under adjudication or to be adjudicated, and I have now adopted a new approach in address such situations,” Justice Sesay was quoted as saying.
The state prosecutor, Joseph Sesay however responded by assuring the presiding judge that he had already secured two witnesses to testify at Musa Sesay’s trail which is expected to be heard again on Friday 3 March, 2017.
Meanwhile, Justice Alusine Sesay had on Friday 24 February 2017, discharged Musa Kamara, who was standing trial for penetrating the sexual organ of a girl under the age of eighteen, contrary to Section (19) of the sexual offence act of 2012, of the laws of Sierra Leone.
He stated that he was discharging Musa Kamara on the grounds that the state prosecution could not produce any convincing evidence against him, since he was charged to court in 2015, and also seized the opportunity to admonished Musa Kamara to desist from such act and stopped chasing girls.
Concluding , Justice Sesay noted that since the state prosecution had failed to produce evidence against Musa Kamara by bringing forward it witness or witnesses for testimony and considering the fact that his health condition was fading away, he would discharged him for want of prosecution.
