09/26/2026
DAUGHTER COMMITTED TO HIGH COURT FOR ALLEGED MURDER OF FATHER IN MASIMERA
OSMAN PK KANU TV.
A Magistrate Court sitting in Masiaka has committed Isatu Issa Conteh of Mathaineh Village, Masimera Chiefdom, Port Loko District, to stand trial before the High Court in Port Loko for the alleged murder of her father, Issa Conteh.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday, 25 September 2026, by Magistrate Harold Kamara in case file C/S 373/2026, involving the Inspector-General of Police and Isatu Issa Conteh.
Isatu Conteh is charged with murder, contrary to Section 1 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as repealed and replaced by Section 1(a) of the Schedule to the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 2022, Act No. 6 of 2022.
The prosecution alleges that the accused unlawfully caused the death of her father, Issa Conteh, on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, at Mathaineh Village in Masimera Chiefdom.
The prosecution was led by I.B. Bangura Esq., representing the Inspector-General of Police, while the accused was unrepresented.
According to the court record, no plea was taken because murder is an indictable offence. The matter therefore proceeded through committal proceedings pursuant to Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 8 of 2024.
During the proceedings, the prosecution served the accused with witness statements, documentary exhibits and other materials intended to be relied upon in the case. The accused confirmed receipt of the materials.
In his ruling, Magistrate Harold Kamara stressed that a committal court does not conduct a full trial or determine whether an accused person is guilty or innocent. Rather, the court determines whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case requiring the accused to stand trial before the High Court.
The Magistrate referred to established legal authorities, including R v Galbraith (1981) and Woolmington v DPP (1935), as well as the legal principles concerning the ingredients of murder outlined in Hyam v DPP and R v Vickers.
Among the prosecution exhibits were documents relating to the deceased's cause of death. Exhibit J, the request for post-mortem examination, and Exhibit K, the cause-of-death certificate, reportedly recorded the cause of death as “acute hemorrhagic shock due to homicidal stab wound of the right medial aspect of the thigh.” The depth of the wound was recorded as 14 centimetres.
The prosecution also presented evidence from several witnesses allegedly linking the accused to the incident.
PW1, Alhaji Mohamed Fofanah, in Exhibits A1-A5, stated that the accused told him she had stabbed the deceased in the right leg with a kitchen knife.
PW2, Hassan Kanu, in Exhibits B1-B6, told the court that the deceased intervened during an altercation between the accused and her younger sister, after which the accused allegedly stabbed him.
PW3, Adama Conteh, in Exhibits C1-C3, reportedly corroborated the account, stating that the accused stabbed their father during the quarrel.
PW4, Adamsay Conteh, told the court that she saw the deceased bleeding and also saw the accused drop a knife.
PW5, Abu Turay, reportedly stated that the accused later admitted to him that she had stabbed the deceased.
The court also considered Exhibits G1-G21, which comprised the accused's voluntary cautioned statement. According to the ruling, the statement contained her account of the circumstances surrounding the incident, including her movements before the confrontation and the alleged presence of a knife.
Other exhibits included Exhibit L, a request for forensic examination of the knife; Exhibits M1-M2, a laboratory analyst's report concerning blood stains found on the knife; Exhibits N1-N16, a scene-of-crime photographic album; and Exhibit Q, described as a black-handled stainless-steel kitchen knife.
After considering the evidence presented, Magistrate Kamara held that the prosecution had established a direct evidential connection between the accused, the knife, the alleged stabbing and the fatal injury.
The Magistrate further noted that questions concerning the weight, voluntariness and reliability of the statements and other evidence are matters that should properly be determined during the substantive trial before the High Court.
Having considered the totality of the evidence, the court ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Isatu Issa Conteh.
Consequently, pursuant to Section 110 of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 8 of 2024, the Magistrate committed Isatu Issa Conteh to stand trial before the High Court in Port Loko on the charge of murder.
She is to remain in lawful custody pending her appearance before a judge of competent jurisdiction.
OSMAN PK KANU TV will continue to follow developments in the case as it progresses through the courts.
