Wife On Remand For Setting Husband On Fire

By Fatmata Mohamed Bangura

Hawanatu Hawa Koroma a trader has made another appearance before Magistrate Santige Bangura of Court No. 2 for allegedly setting her husband, Nabieu Bangura on fire, leading to his death.
The Accused person was arraigned on one Count Charge of Murder, Contrary to Section 1 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1816, as repealed and replaced by Section 1(a) of the schedule of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 2021, Act No.6 of 2022.
According to the charge sheet, it is alleged that on Friday, November 22, 2024 at back of Leicester Peak Junction, Hill Station, Freetown, Hawanatu Koroma murdered Nabieu Bangura.
Testimony from prosecution witness No. 3, Saidu Bangura, led in evidence by DSP Sorie Conteh, testified that he is a trader and the deceased, Nabieu Bangura was his young brother.
He recognised the accused as the wife of the deceased and recalled the event of November 22, 2024.
Saidu Bangura stated that he was in Kamakwei when he received a telephone call from Moses Kamara, informing him that the deceased had been burnt.
That upon receiving the information, he came to Connaught Hospital, where he met the deceased.
“When I arrived and asked the deceased what had transpired, he told me that it was the accused who set him on fire; I asked if they had any dispute, and he told me that they had no dispute,” he stated.
The deceased reportedly told Saidu Bangura that when he returned home from work, the accused person accused him of having a girlfriend.
When she persisted, he left her in their room and went to sleep in the shop. While he was sleeping, he felt the accused pouring something on him.
He got up and asked why she was pouring water on him, thinking it was water.
“The accused then scratched and lit a match and threw it on him, and he blazed on fire.
She closed the door after lighting the fire,” the witness narrated.
That neighbors broke open the door took the deceased to the Emergency Hospital, and later transferred him to the Connaught Hospital.
That doctors at Connaught Hospital informed Saidu Bangura that the deceased was severely burnt to 90 degrees, and he died after one week.
Saidu Bangura also testified that his brother was burnt all over his body, and that he witnessed the postmortems examination.
Photos and the cause of death certificate of the deceased were produced and tendered in court as part of the prosecution’s case.
Saidu Bangura stated that he made statement at the Akon Police Post.
When the accused, who was unrepresented, was asked if she had any question for the witness, she replied in the negative.
The matter was adjourned to the 28th January 2025, while the accused person was remanded.