October 24, 2016 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
One Mohamed Alimamy Mansaray, a storekeeper attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security in Kambia District, Northern Sierra Leone, last Friday (21st October 2016), pleaded guilty to a count’s charge of misappropriation of public prosperity.
He had initially pleaded not guilty to the offence but decided to change his initial plea after his Lawyer Abdurahman R. Kamara had a conference with him in court.
“I have had a conference with my client and he had wished to change his initial plea of not guilty to guilty as a result of the evidences adduced against him in court, especially his voluntary caution statement made to the police,” barrister Kamara told the court.
He applied that the charges be put again to the accused, which the judge granted and the accused subsequently pleaded guilty.
The accused is standing trial in the Freetown High Court before Justice Miatta Samba for the aforementioned corruption offence, contrary to Section 36(1) of the Anti -Corruption Act No.12 of 2008.
The prosecution had alleged that the accused, being the storekeeper of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security in the Kambia District, on diverse dates between 10th July, 2015 and 6th June, 2016, misappropriated 804 bags of Urea fertilisers, public property in the custody of the ministry.