By: Tamba Steven Komba
Freetown, 24th March 2026- The Magistrate court in Mile 91, has committed a woman (Adamsay Jalloh) to stand trial at the High Court for the alleged murder of her young daughter, following what the court described as compelling evidence, including a confession and the secret burial of the child.
Delivering a detailed ruling on March 23, 2026, His Worship Harold Kamara clarified the limited scope of the proceedings, stating: “At this stage, I am not required to determine the guilty or innocence of the defendant, but to consider whether a prima facie case has been disclosed… whether there is sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable judge of the High Court could convict.”
The accused, Adamsay Jalloh, is charged with murder “contrary to section 1(a) of the schedule to the Abolition of Death Penalty Act, 2021.” Due to the indictable nature of the offence, “NO PLEA was taken,” the court noted.
According to the ruling, the deceased child, Mabinty Kamara, “was last seen in the custody and care of the defendant, who is her mother.” Testimonies from multiple prosecution witnesses established that the child “went missing while under the exclusive care of the defendant” and that she provided “conflicting and false explanations as to the whereabouts of the child.”
In what the court described as the most weighty development, the accused’s own statement revealed critical details. The magistrate stated: “The defendant admitted that the child died during the night and that she proceeded to secretly bury the body in the bush without informing the authorities or family members.”
This confession, the court emphasized, was not made in isolation. “The defendant led the police to the scene, identified the burial spot, and a decomposed human body was recovered,” the ruling said, adding that “the photograph (EXHIBIT H) lends further support to the fact.”
Summarizing the weight of the evidence, the magistrate outlined three key findings: “the fact of death of the child,” that “the death occurred while the child was in the custody of the defendant,” and the accused’s conduct afterward, including “concealment of the death and burial of the body in secret, circumstances which… raises strong suspicion of unlawful killing.”
While the court observed that the defendant appeared to show “signs of mental disorder in court,” it stressed that “no medical evidence has been placed before this court to substantiate a defence of insanity.”
Concluding the ruling, Magistrate Kamara declared: “I am satisfied that the prosecution has established a prima facie case of murder against the defendant sufficient to require her to make a defence.” He further ordered: “Accordingly, I hereby commit the defendant… to stand trial before the High Court… The defendant herein is to be remanded in custody pending her trial.”
The case now proceeds to the High Court, where the full trial will determine the defendant’s guilt or innocence in a case that has already gripped public attention with its troubling revelations.
