By: Ibrahim J. Conteh
David M. Bayo, a 40yrs old teacher and a resident of 19 Savage Street, Brookfields, Freetown made his first appearance before Magistrate Mark Ngegba at the Pademba Road Magistrate Court No.2 on three count charges of wounding with intent, assault and malicious damage.
According to the particulars of offence, the accused person, David M. Bayo on Friday 30th July wounded one Solomon Kpasokay Luseni Bomaya with intent to do him grievous bodily harm contrary to section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act of 1861, assault occasionally actual bodily harm contrary to section 47 of the Offences against the Person Act of 1861.
Testifying in court, the complainant, Solomon Kpasokay Bomaya who is also a resident of the same address and a teacher at the Saint Joseph Secondary School told the court that he was at home while it was raining, he felt the urge to attend to nature and there was water in a bowl left in the rains which he used to wash his hands which was later understood to belong to the Accused person’s wife “Mani”
And on his retiring to his sitting room, he heard the accused person’s wife “Mani” calling him all sort of names and using maternal invective words at him, with the thought that “by merely washing his hands from the bowl, he has contaminated the water from the bowl she placed outside.” And in a manner for sanity to prevail the complainant added he decided to throw away the water to have it refilled, since it was still raining, but all of a sudden Mani poured the water on him, took her phone and called her husband.
And upon her husband’s arrival, he went straight into his room without asking question and came out with an iron rod and starting hitting him on his legs venting out threatening remarks. Feeling so surprised, “I was dumbfounded”, he expressed. “I told my wife to hold her as I went to the police to make a report. Returning home from the police station he added, I saw my wife and Mani in bitter exchange of words. I told my wife to be calm stating that I have already reported the matter to the police and it was within that time that the accused person made a forceful advancement at me and persistently keep hitting me with the iron all over my body until my head oozes blood”.
He told the court that he was then taken to the hospital for treatment and there he went into coma.
In the introductory session of the hearing, the lead defence counsel Lawyer J Cole made an application for the prosecuting counsel to made available statements from prosecuting witnesses for cross examination in a bid to expedite fair hearing, and this application he said is made pursuant to section 4 and 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1865.
However, the learned Magistrate ruled against the application on the grounds that there is no law that gives specific mandate to the said provision.
The witness was cross examined by the defence counsel and a bail application was made.