By Foday Moriba Conteh
Proceedings in the ongoing murder trial of Abdul Kpaka on Wednesday, 19th November 2025, took a dramatic turn as contradictions emerged between the testimony of the lead police investigator and earlier accounts given by management of the Virtues Funeral Home. The clash in narratives prompted Lead Defense Counsel, E.T. Koroma, to openly question the credibility of Detective Inspector Nyakeh Amara, telling him directly in court, “You are not a truthful person.”
State Prosecutor Yusuif Isaac Sesay led his seventh prosecution witness, D/Insp. Amara, who testified after taking an oath on the Holy Bible. He told the court that the investigation was transferred from the Adonkia Police Station to the Lumley Regional West Police Station on 14th August 2024. Acting on instructions from the Regional Crime Officer, he said he assembled a team to probe the matter.
The investigator outlined several steps taken during the probe, including preparing an autopsy request letter, overseeing the autopsy, conducting a search at the deceased’s residence under a warrant, obtaining witness and accused statements, visiting the Emergency Hospital, and eventually charging the accused with murder upon directives from the Law Officers’ Department.
Before concluding his testimony, D/Insp Amara presented a written statement purportedly obtained from a nurse at Emergency Hospital who attended to the deceased, Sia, before she was declared “clinically dead.” The prosecution cited provisions of the 2024 Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), arguing that the nurse, Madam Muretta Mariatu Kamara, was out of the country on medical grounds, making her physical appearance impractical.
However, the defense strongly objected, arguing that admitting a statement from an absent witness would deprive them of the opportunity to test its credibility through cross-examination. After a prolonged legal argument, Justice Alfred Ganda ruled in favour of the prosecution, noting that the defense had not challenged the legal basis on which the request was made. The statement was admitted into evidence.
During cross-examination, Defense Counsel Koroma asked the investigator how many murder cases he had handled. D/Insp Amara replied, “Many.”
Counsel then asked whether the first and last day he saw the corpse was during the postmortem on 16th August 2024. The investigator confirmed this. When asked who had custody of the corpse during the investigation, D/Insp Amara initially responded that the body was in the care of “the family, the accused, and the police.” The response prompted concern from both counsel and the judge.
After Justice Ganda intervened for clarity, the officer changed his answer, this time saying the corpse was in the custody of the Virtues Funeral Home. The judge again stepped in, leading to the officer finally affirming that the police had custody throughout the investigation contradicting his earlier responses.
It was at this point that Defense Counsel Koroma told the witness: “You are not a truthful person.”
Court records, however, show a conflicting account. *Prosecution Witness 5, the Manager of Virtues Funeral Home, testified on 5th November 2025 that the corpse remained in their facility from 13th–16th August 2024 under the care of the family, not the police. She stated that Sylvester Patrick Kamara, the deceased’s cousin, collected the corpse and transported it to the Connaught Hospital mortuary for the postmortem on 16th August 2024. She also confirmed that the police never contacted or visited her facility during that period.
Madam Wilson’s testimony before Justice Ganda was consistent with the account she previously gave before Justice Momoh Jah Stevens prior to the case’s reassignment based on a Supreme Court ruling dated 17th December 2024.
Similarly, PW2, Sylvester Kamara, corroborated this version, confirming that he notified Virtues Funeral Home about the postmortem on 15th August and personally transported the body to Connaught Hospital.
Despite these aligned testimonies from the funeral home and family, the police narrative sharply diverged.
The conflicting accounts now raise significant questions about who actually had custody of the body during the investigation an issue central to the integrity of a murder probe.
Under the 2021 Medical Examiner’s Act, Section 12(1)–(2), the body in a reportable death must not be moved or altered without the consent of the Chief Medical Examiner. This measure is designed to prevent contamination or improper handling that could affect autopsy results.
If indeed the corpse was left under family care between 13th and 16th August without oversight from police or the medical examiner, as testimonies suggest, it could cast serious doubt on the validity of the autopsy findings.
Section 13(2) of the Medical Examiner’s Act further states that altering or moving a body without proper authority constitutes an offence punishable by up to three years imprisonment, a fine of Le10,000,000, or both.
At the close of proceedings, Defense Counsel Koroma reminded the court of two pending rulings one on the bail application and the other regarding a request to state a case to the Supreme Court. He urged the court not to proceed with further hearings while both matters remained unresolved.
Justice Ganda assured that both rulings would be delivered at the next adjourned date. The matter was adjourned to Friday, 28th November.
