Waterloo Correctional Centre, Sierra Leone \u2013 July 3, 2025 \u2013 In a landmark decision, High Court Judge Hon. Justice Hannah Bonnie has acquitted and discharged thirty-four (34) out of sixty-one (61) inmates who appeared before the UNDP-funded Prison Court at the Waterloo Correctional Centre. This ruling provides a fresh start for many individuals seeking redemption.<\/p>\n
The Prison Court is part of Chief Justice Komba Kamanda\u2019s frantic efforts to improve access to Justice at an accelerated pace and to ensure that inmates on prolonged adjournment, those without indictments, the aged, those who are mentally deranged etc. have their respective issues expeditiously addressed.<\/p>\n
Among those released were three female convicts, including two female inmates, both previously sentenced for larceny. The inmates had been convicted by magistrate courts in Waterloo and York for various offenses, including throwing missiles, receiving stolen property, wounding, fraudulent conversion, and common assault.<\/p>\n
During the session, several inmates appealed to Justice Bonnie for mercy, expressing genuine remorse for their actions. \u201cMummy, most of us know our conduct was wrong, and we believe we were rightfully convicted. We\u2019ve learnt our lesson and will take a complete turn and become better citizens. \u201cOne of the inmates who was seeking for second chance said during the session.<\/p>\n
A female inmate, who was serving time for larceny, made a heartfelt plea for mercy, explaining that desperation had driven her actions. \u201cStealing is not part of my DNA. I was left with no option as my children were starving,\u201d she shared, highlighting the difficult circumstances that led to her conviction.<\/p>\n
In her address, Justice Bonnie acknowledged the inmates\u2019 appeals but emphasized that their actions were both legally and morally wrong. She urged them to abandon criminal behavior and engage in productive enterprises that would enable them to contribute positively to national development.<\/p>\n
Addressing procedural matters, Justice Bonnie also highlighted the situation of seventeen (17) inmates who have yet to receive indictments. She ordered relevant authorities to ensure that the indictments are promptly served, allowing the accused to access the High Court for a full trial.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, she directed the magistrate courts in Waterloo and York to expedite long-pending cases. Justice Bonnie ordered that the cases of Algasimu Sesay, charged with stealing a phone worth eight thousand New Leones, and Issa Kargbo, charged with simple larceny, be tried summarily at the Magistrate Court.<\/p>\n
The Prison Court session concluded with inmates expressing their gratitude to Hon. Justice Bonnie and the Hon. Chief Justice of the Judiciary for what they described as a timely intervention, offering them renewed hope for the future.<\/p>\n
For further inquiries, please contact the Judiciary Communications at +23278244739, +23234617548, or +23279101086, or visit our website at www.judiciary.gov.sl.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Waterloo Correctional Centre, Sierra Leone \u2013 July 3, 2025 \u2013 In a landmark decision, High Court Judge Hon. Justice Hannah Bonnie has acquitted and discharged thirty-four (34) out of sixty-one (61) inmates who appeared before the UNDP-funded Prison Court at the Waterloo Correctional Centre. This ruling provides a fresh startRead More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-comms","post-1792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1792"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1794,"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792\/revisions\/1794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.Judiciary.gov.sl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}