By: Saidu Jalloh Reporter (D.S)
Freetown, Sierra Leone Chief Justice Komba Kamanda has ordered the immediate release of petty trader Fatmata Kamara, popularly known as “Mammy Iye,” nearly a week after she was sentenced to prison for insulting a magistrate.
The Chief Justice acted under Section 5 of the Summary Review Act, Cap 17 of the Laws of Sierra Leone, reviewing the decision of the York Magistrate’s Court without the need for a formal appeal.
Kamara, a cookery seller, was convicted on March 18 after pleading guilty to two counts of public insult and provocation, contrary to Sections 2 and 3(1) of the Public Order Act, 1965. Magistrate Solomon Christian Kekurah sentenced her to one month on each count, with the terms to run consecutively.
Court records indicate that the incident took place on March 5 at a welding shop in New Jersey Junction, Goderich, Freetown. The complainant, Magistrate Aaron Bangura, had visited Kamara’s stall to buy food and, after waiting for several minutes without being served, urged her to attend to him as he said he was in a hurry.
Witnesses told the court that Kamara responded with abusive language and continued even after bystanders cautioned her. During the proceedings, Kamara told the magistrate that she did not know the complainant was a magistrate. In sentencing, Magistrate Kekurah described her conduct as disrespectful and provocative, directed at a “high-level citizen of this country in the capacity of a magistrate.”
Kamara was held at the Female Correctional Centre until the Chief Justice’s release order was implemented on March 24.
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