The Legal Aid Board (LAB) has secured the discharge of 41 accused persons including a juvenile offender from separate Court sittings held in Freetown; Kono; Port Loko, and Kenema districts between Monday 1st June 2026 and Wednesday 16th July 2026.
Among the forty-one beneficiaries, seven of them including the juvenile offender who was standing trial on sexual penetration were discharged in Freetown; while twenty-four were freed in separate courts hearings in Kono, nine were freed in Port Loko and one was freed in Kenema.
Two of the forty-one beneficiaries were women – Hawa Jalloh and Aminata Kamara. Hawa who was pregnant at the time of her trial was acquitted and discharged in Kono by Justice Ibrahim Santigie Bangura. Prior to her acquittal, Hawa was standing trial on charges of unlawful possession of Cannabis Sativa (Jamba) seeds.
In all, a total of five of the forty-one beneficiaries were freed on an acquittal and discharge basis, while the remaining thirty-six were set free on a discharge and a caution and discharge basis.
In her usual post discharge briefing with beneficiaries discharged in Freetown, the Executive Director of the Board, Ms Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles, admonished them to “eschew violence, thievery and any other thing that has to do with police interest”, adding that crime in whatever form whether misdemeanor or felonious is bad and must be avoided.
She assured the public of the Board’s continued commitment in ensuring that the poor and vulnerable are always represented in the courts.
The beneficiaries in Freetown were represented by Counsel Cyril Taylor-Younge and Counsel Mustapha Karim Dauda, while those in Port Loko; Kenema and Kono; were represented by Counsel Mohamed Korie; Counsel Patrick Kamara and Counsel Alpha O Kamara, respectively.
