50-year-old Ali Jaffal a business man, Abdul Jaffal, and Abdallah Jaffal, Mohamed Jaffal, Abbas Antar, Naif Antar and Hassan Jaffal made another appearance before Magistrate Santigie Bangura of Pademba Road court No.2 in Freetown.
They stood on seven count charges to two ranging from ‘wounding,’ and on two counts ranging from ‘assault’ by occasioning actual bodily harm.
Affray was accused of throwing missiles and behaving in a disorderly manner.
According to the particulars of offence on Saturday 6th April 2024 at the Young Sport Club (YSC) facility at Wilkinson road in Freetown while the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th accused persons maliciously wounded one Adam Hamdan.
On count two the 7th accused person on the above date and place maliciously wounded Mohamed Aroune.
On count three and four the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th accused persons on the above date and place maliciously wounded Adam Hamdan and Mohamed Aroune in a manner described legally as occasioning actual bodily harm on the victims.
On count five at the above date and place the accused persons were found fighting with intent to put the public into fear.
On count six the accused persons on the above date and place were found throwing stones, sticks putting the public into fear on and count seven at the same place and date the accused persons were found behaving in disorderly manner in a public place.
When the charges were read and explained to the accused persons they pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution witness was chief Superintendent of police Mohamed Turay LUC and he is attached at Lumley police station.
He supervised personnel at the police post and he went on patrol around the checkpoint.
During the night hours, he recalled on the 5th April 2024 at about 23:30hurs he received a distressed call from the Regional Commander AIG Kamara who gave him instructions to take personal at YSC.
He said upon those instructions he left the station together with personnel on duty onboarding a vehicle and went to YSC and upon their arrival they saw some Lebanese men and women chilling, running up and down.
Due to that activity at the noisy scene, he deployed personnel at the main gate not to allow anyone to come out.
He said he instructed the Lebanese people to stay where they were in order to put the situation under control.
He then gave instructions to one of his personnel to went upstairs and he met along one Alie Coluza who introduced himself to him that he is the chairman. He then explain to him that he received a distressed call that there was a fight and one fired a gun and all those that involved in the fight would be arrested. The witness said all the accused persons in the dock where those he had arrested on that.
The witness said three of the accused persons were brought to him and they were the ones that involved in the fight with Alie Jaffal and his three brothers. The witness said he asked the first accused person Alie Jaffal if he knew them.
“Way dem Slap me broda watin ar for do,” he said Mr Jaffal replied this way.
The witness said the first three accused persons were taken to the police station on a vehicle while another four were arrested.
He further asked the chairman that they told him that there was a gun and the witness said one Lebanese man by the name of Toffic Dawie handed over the gun to him.
He told him that he disarmed it from the first accused person Alie Jaffal.
The witness said he handed over the said gun to the station.
He later returned to the Lumley Police Station after the entire YSC was put under control.
The witness was crossexamined by defense counsel V.S Kamara Esq
Meanwhile, Magistrate Bangura adjourned the matter to 14th May 2024 and bail continues for the accused persons.