By Tamba Steven Komba
A man accused of violently attacking another villager with a stick and biting him during a confrontation at Rosal Village, Koya Chiefdom, in the Port Loko District, has been committed to stand trial before the High Court in Port Loko.
Delivering his ruling on May 11, 2026, Magistrate Harold Kamara of the Magistrate Court in Masiaka Town said the prosecution had established “sufficient evidence disclosing a prima facie case” against the accused, Ibrahim Sorie Kanu.
Kanu faces three counts, including “Wounding with intent contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861,” “Wounding contrary to section 20,” and “Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm contrary to section 47 of the same Act.”
According to court records, the incident occurred on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Rosal Village in Koya Chiefdom, where the accused allegedly attacked one Santigie Turay during a confrontation involving the defendant and his wife.
“The defendant maliciously wounded one Santigie Turay and assaulted him thereby occasioning him actual bodily harm,” the ruling stated.
Testifying before the court, prosecution witness one (PW1), Santigie Turay, said he met the accused and his wife near a water well before the situation turned violent.
“He attacked him with a stick causing injuries to his forehead and mouth and further bit him on the forehead,” the court quoted PW1 as saying, adding that “blood was oozing from the injuries sustained.”
Another prosecution witness, Abdul Sesay, corroborated the testimony, telling the court that he saw the complainant “on the ground bleeding from his mouth and forehead” before helping to take him to a stakeholder and later to the police station.
The prosecution also tendered several exhibits, including witness statements, photographs of the complainant’s injuries, a medical request form, and the defendant’s voluntary cautioned statement.
In that statement, the accused admitted engaging in a fight with the complainant.
“The defendant… admitted hitting him with a stick during the confrontation,” the ruling disclosed, although the accused alleged that the complainant had advanced towards him with a cutlass.
Medical evidence presented before the court reportedly revealed “laceration on the forehead and upper lip together with human bite marks,” while photographs tendered as exhibits showed “visible injuries and blood stains” on the complainant.
Magistrate Kamara, relying on legal authorities including R.v Galbraith and JCC v Eisenhower, noted that at the committal stage, the court is only required to determine whether sufficient evidence exists for the matter to proceed to trial.
“The evidence adduced is sufficient to require an answer from the defendant before a trial Judge of the High Court,” Magistrate Kamara ruled.
He subsequently ordered that Ibrahim Sorie Kanu be committed to stand trial before the High Court sitting in Port Loko “on all counts charged” and further directed that the accused “shall remain in custody at the Port Loko correctional center pending his appearance before the High Court therein unless otherwise admitted to bail by a Judge.”
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday, 18th May 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
