The three accused persons are charged on two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Murder contrary to Offences Against Persons Act of 1861 of the laws of Sierra Leone.
It all started on Friday 22 May 2015, when 3rd accused, Avril Oredola Renner organized her birthday party in the residence of 1st accused, Mbaimba Moi Foray at Cemetery Lane at Aberdeen in Freetown which the deceased, David Sydney Buckle together with his friends attended, but later got missing the following day, and on Monday, 25th May 2015 his mortal remains were found dumped at the Macaulay street cemetery dust bin in Freetown.
As a result of this, family members, friends and relatives then made a report to personnel at the Aberdeen Police Station, who immediately instituted an investigation by going to 3rd accused, Avril Oredola Renner residence at Juba Hill in Freetown and invited her to Aberdeen Police Station for statement in respect of the mysterious disappearance of D J Clef.
Police exhibits stated that, D J Clef’s mortal remains were late found dumped at the Macauley street cemetery with a yellow nylon rope tied to his feet, he left eye plucked out, including his three toes chopped off and was wrapped in a brown vehicle dust cover and brown colored carpet.
At the conclusion of police investigation, the three accused persons were charged for the offence Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Murder contrary to law, and the prosecution team led by the Director of Public Prosecution, Sulaiman Bah led seventeen witnesses in evidence at the Magistrate and High Courts.
During the Director of Public of Prosecution, Sulaiman Bah address inter earlier, he submitted to court, that the prosecution adduced sufficient circumstantial evidence connecting accused persons to the offences charged, meaning all accused person should be held culpable for the murder of D J Clef at the residence of the 1st accused, Mbaimba Moi Foray at Cemetery Lane in Freetown.
He further submitted that, the testimonies of prosecution witnesses like, Oseh Libo, Abigel Samura, Tunde Scott and Sahr David Moseray including others witnesses stated that, they last saw D J Clef at the birthday party and even swam together with other guests in a swimming pool right inside 1st accused residence, stressing that even 3rd accused, Avril Oredola Renner made it abundantly clear in her statement to the police that, D J Clef peck and bade her good bye in the morning hours of Saturday 23th May 2015.
According to the prosecution, there is also clear evidence to substantiating that D J Clef was last spotted wearing a red boxer, he later came out of the swimming pool and walked the towards a generator room to pick up his clothing on the instruction of Tunde Scott, who told everyone in the swimming pool at that material moment to come out including D J Clef, as time was up for them to retire home.
He maintained that the evidence adduced by the prosecution disclosed, that since D J Clef attended the party, he was never seen again, until his mortal remains were found dumped at the Macauley street cemetery, and that even a delta security guard d attached to 1st accused residence testified that, the yellow nylon rope, the brown vehicle dust cover and a brown carpet which were found with deceased used to be seen in the residence of 1st accused, but could not see them in the compound when he took up duty on the following day.
The DPP concluded that, the prosecution led seventeen witnesses in evidence and tendered twenty exhibits substantiating sufficient circumstantial evidence to hold all accused persons culpable for the murder of one of Sierra Leone‘s promising and talented disc jockey, David Henry Sydney.
The defense lawyers on the other hand countered that, the prosecution failed woefully to connect accused persons to the offence of Conspiracy to Murder and Murder contrary to law as claimed by the prosecution, and that 1st and 2nd accused had never met with the deceased before and in fact, Oseh Libo who is familiar to 1st accused took her sometime to prevail on him to allow her friend, 3rd accused, Avril Oredola Renner organize her birthday party in his residence.
They further stated in their no case submission that, the prosecution also failed woefully to give convincing evidence on conspiracy and murder, as 3rd accused clearly stated to police that, she did not invite the deceased to her birthday party, and even when he got wing of the planned birthday party, the deceased telephoned her, but that she told the deceased that she had no rum for him.
The defense lawyers also countered that, throughout the party there was no major incident of police interest and the deceased was seen dancing with a fair complexion lady at the party, and that besides out of seventeen witnesses that testified at the trail process, none of them made no mention of accused persons planning, conspiring and brutally murdering D J Clef at the residence of 1st accused as prosecuted by the prosecution.
Also the 2nd accused, Foday Amara Kamara had to flee to Kono in the north-eastern part of Sierra Leone to save his life because, according to his statement to the police, following the arrest and detention of Mbaimba Moi Foary at the Aberdeen Police Station, he went to enquired and on his arrival at the station, he heard someone among irate crowd of people gathered saying, LAC is longer our target and if we catch his boys, we will kill them.
This, they said intimidated and panicked 2nd accused to flee to Masingbi where he spent some weeks before arriving in Kono to handed himself over to the Motema Police Station and he was later on brought down to Freetown for trial.
