AYV News, October 28, 2024
A Nurse at the Emergency Surgical Hospital Center in Goderich, Saminatu Tarawally, was the fifth witness in Abdul Kpaka’s trial. She testified that she recognised Kpaka as the person who brought the deceased to the hospital on the morning of August 13, 2024, around 8:20am, while cleaning in the Outpatient Department.
She said a security guard alerted her about an emergency patient outside. Following directions from her team leader, Muretta Mariatu Kamara, and alongside a cleaner named Abdulai Kargbo, she went to assist the patient.
While outside, she witnessed Abdul Kpaka trying to extract a helpless patient from the car and quickly, she ran to place a bed underneath to assist. After they had managed to bring the patient into the outpatient department, she used scissors to cut the cloth for examination, as directed by her team leader.
Upon tearing the cloth, she noticed blood in her mouth, visible bruising, and a minor flow of blood from one of her feet. Afterward, her team leader called for a team of doctors, both national and international.
During this time, she was informed that they needed to switch shifts with the morning team. Consequently, she left the scene and headed home.
In the vehicle, she recalled seeing only two individuals: Abdul Kpaka (the accused) and (Sia) the now deceased.
Meanwhile, Muretta Mariatu Kamara serves as the sixth witness to testify. Muretta, who is a nurse at the Emergency Hospital working in the outpatient department, doubles as team leader/supervisor of the outpatient department. With 13 years of experience, her role is to supervise the nurses and also prepare a monthly duty rooster, which shows the time that the nurses come to work.
Muretta recounted a similar incident as to the fifth witness but dived deeper into what she experienced that day.
On August 13, 2024, she directed Saminatu and a cleaner to bring an emergency patient inside after being alerted by a security guard around 8:20am. Upon assessing the patient when she was brought she noticed the upper limbs were flexible.
Once in the critical area room, she instructed Fatima, a morning shift worker, to gather information from the accused in the outpatient chat book. She also asked Saminatu to tear the deceased’s clothing and Amida to set up the monitor. While Amida was preparing the monitor, the witness narrated that she had to check the patient’s pulse and found none, as well as no signs of breathing. She placed her ear to the patient’s mouth but heard nothing, with all other efforts to awaken her proved futile.
She had to even confirm with the monitor, and there were no vital signs.
Within that period, she had to call a team of national and international doctors about the patient who was brought unconscious. Before their arrival, they were performing Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, a procedure for patients who are not breathing and lack a pulse, which eventually lasted for 20 to 25 minutes.
Upon examination, the doctors prescribed medications, including Adrenaline and Naproxen.
However, after the medication was administered, the doctors concluded that the patient had clinically died upon arrival.
Afterward, the witness and the international doctors stepped outside, where they called the accused, who was crying as he approached them.
While outside, the witness also revealed that during their conversation, the accused told him that Sia fell and hit her mouth.
Moments later after his narration, the witness testified that the doctors had to inform the accused about Sia’s death. Overwhelmed with grief, the accused wept bitterly, prompting the witness to share in his sorrow.
Subsequently, the witness further said that she had to leave the accused and instructed the nurses to wrap the body and place it in a room. A few minutes later, three women came—one was the accused’s sister, and the others were the deceased’s sisters.
She guided them to where Sia’s body was prepared, and ultimately, arrangements were made by the accused for the body to be transported to Connaught Mortuary.
Following their testimonies, both witnesses were cross-examined by lead defense attorney E.T. Koroma. During that process, the fifth witness revealed that the CCTV cameras were on that day but when further questioned if they had all the footage now, replies in the negative. The fifth witness also confirmed that she used scissors to tear the cloth because she was unable to remove it. On the other hand, the sixth witness when asked when CPR is conducted, there will be a swollen effect, revealed that she can’t tell the aftermath, only its benefits.
PW-6 also mentioned that pressing was done with force on the deceased as part of their efforts to bring the deceased back to normalcy. After cross-examination, Hon. Justice Momoh-Jah Stevens ordered the adjournment of the trial to Friday, 1st November, 2024, for a further hearing while the accused remained in custody.
