By Mohamed Mansaray in Kenema

Kenema Law Court

A school pupil in Falla Town, Kenema District, has been sentenced to five months’ imprisonment by Magistrate Wilbri Hamida M. John of Magistrate Court No. 2 in Kenema, after being found guilty of larceny.

The convict, Yusuf James, was charged with Larceny contrary to Section 2 of the Larceny Act of 1916.

According to testimony from WPC 18818 Fatima Samai, James, on July 20, 2025, stole a quantity of cocoa beans valued at One Thousand Five Hundred New Leones (NLe 1,500) from a farm at Falla Town bush, Wandor Chiefdom, Kenema Judicial District. The beans were the property of Ibrahim Kongo.

James pleaded guilty to the offence and asked the court for leniency, but Magistrate John handed down a custodial sentence, ordering him to serve time at the Sierra Leone Correctional Service in Kenema.

In a separate matter, Mohamed Bockarie, a 26-year-old farmer, also appeared before Magistrate John for Conspiracy to Commit a Crime contrary to Law.

According to PC 13536 Sylvester Alfred Moseray, the accused, on July 29, 2025, at Tilorma Village, Lower Bambara Chiefdom, Kenema District, conspired with unknown persons to commit larceny. He was found to have stolen cocoa pods valued at Two Hundred New Leones (NLe 200), property of Kennie Musa.

Bockarie also pleaded guilty and begged for mercy. He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, to be served concurrently at the Sierra Leone Correctional Service in Kenema.

Both cases highlight the increasing incidents of farm theft in Kenema District, particularly involving cocoa produce, which is a key economic crop for farmers in the Eastern Province.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday,25th August 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)