By: Alimatu Kargbo
Jihad Basma, the 3rd accused of the ongoing diamond theft case, informed the court that “the diamond is no longer in my possession, but I have handed it over to Hisham Mackie” he said.
State Counsel, Isaac Yusuf Sesay Esq. called his third witness, Albert Momoh Moiwendor, a resident of Kono and a miner for over 10 years.
In his testimony before Magistrate Satingie Bangura of Court No. 2 on Pademba Road, Freetown, on Monday, 9th September 2024, Momoh admitted recognizing the first and second accused persons due to his work in mining in Kono.
He testified that on 28th May 2024, he received a call from his uncle, Mr. Lebbie, informing him that a diamond had been stolen from the mining site. Upon arriving at the site, he rnquired about the diamond and later reported the matter to the Motehba Police Station, where the accused persons were in custody, as the investigation was ongoing.
The police later informed him that the case had been transferred to Freetown for further investigation. Momoh said that he traveled to Freetown the next day with his sister and the first accused person to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters for further enquiries. He admitted that the first accused attempted to apologize.
During this time, Momoh decided to call his brother, the Deputy Minister of Sports, Kai Lawrence Mbayo, who came and interviewed the first accused regarding the stolen diamond.
According to Momoh, the first accused confessed that he had taken the diamond, but claimed it was no longer in his possession, as he had handed it over to the third accused, Jihad Basma.
Momoh further testified that he and his sister tried to reach Jihad Basma to enquire about the diamond.
Basma informed them that the diamond was no longer in his possession and had been passed on to Hisham Mackie.