January 18, 2016 By Regina Pratt
The prosecution last Friday closed their case in the preliminary investigation of bigamy and perjury charges brought against Dr. Alie Kabba in the Freetown Magistrates’ Court No.6, before Magistrate Mohamed Seray-Wurie.
Dr. Kabba, a flag-bearer aspirant for the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), was arrested in late December and detained for six days at the Pademba Road Correctional Centre in Freetown, after Local Government Minister, Ms. Diana Finda Konomanyi filed a bigamy complaint against him.
The duo got married in August 2013 but their marriage collapsed almost immediately as a result of bigamy allegations. Ms. Konomanyi sought and was granted an annulment subsequently.
Prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police Samuel Kamara said he had completed adducing evidence against the defendant after recalling the fifth and sixth witnesses for re-examination.
In response, defence counsel Umaru Napoleon Koroma requested for an adjournment to allow them time to decide what line of action to take next.
Earlier, fifth prosecution witness Alieu Mansaray told the court that he had written to Interpol in Chicago in the United States of America requesting the case and inquiry file 11D/1796 of Alie Kabba and his former wife Edith Kabba. The witness said the files were wired to them.
But the defence objected to the tendering of the 200 pages document on the grounds that only one page was signed and authorised.
However, counsel Koroma contended that the document was not properly before the court and should not be accepted as evidence in the preliminary investigation.
The prosecutor responded that the document was certified and that the operative word is ‘entire case file’ as each page carries a case number, plus date filed.
In his ruling, Magistrate Seray-Wurie said that having seen the document, which was notarised, he would allow the witness to tender it.
While cross-examining the fifth prosecution witness, defence counsel Francis Ben Keifala told the court that after he requested for the document, head of crime management at the Criminal Investigation Department gave him an unsealed envelop which contained the document.
He then questioned the witness as to whether he had read the final judgment of the divorce matter between Edith Kabba and Alie Kabba before charging the matter, to which he said ‘yes’.
The defence counsel further questioned the witness whether the final judgment mentioned anywhere that 27 September, 2013 was the date of dissolution of marriage between Edith Kabba and Alie Kabba, but he replied in the negative.
The witness also told the court that the accused told him his marriage ended in July 2013, and that he promised to produce the dissolution certificate, although the matter was charged to court before the accused could avail the document to detectives.
Keifala told the court that his client had informed him that the judgment of 27 September, 2013 concerned custody of their children, maintenance and sharing of property.
Under cross-examination, sixth prosecution witness Ekundayo Pratt, an officer at the Administrator and Registrar-General’s Office, told counsel Umaru Koroma he had not read contents of the Record Book of Miscellaneous Documents and Instruments he was about to tender in evidence, adding he was ignorant as to under which instrument the document was registered.
The matter was adjourned until Monday, 18 January.