By Hassan Juana Koroma
Pujehun, 25th May, 2026 – Mohamed James Mansaray, 28, has on Thursday, 21st May, 2026, been charged to court in connection with the alleged ritual killing of five-year-old Hawa Gbessay Kebbie, a former pupil of Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood Primary School in Taininahun, Makemuma Kpanga Chiefdom, Pujehun District.
According to proceedings after weeks of investigations by the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), authorities charged Mohamed James Mansaray with three counts: count one – murder, count two – Killing a child and count three – conspiracy to commit murder.
The case followed the disappearance of the child, identified as Hawa Gbessay Kebbie, during a village ritual ceremony reportedly linked to claims of diamond discovery in the area.
Community sources said that there was no formal school session in the village on Wednesday, 1st April, 2026, noting that residents were occupied with a traditional ceremony connected to the reported presence of suspected diamonds. Villagers alleged that illegal miners had gathered to perform rites intended to identify or remove diamond stones from the ground.
Several children were reportedly involved or brought into the proceedings.
Hawa Gbessay Kebbie allegedly went missing during the afternoon of the ceremony. Residents searched the village and the surrounding bush for three days before her body was discovered.
Her remains were later found in a nearby stream, in what police and community members described as a serious and disturbing development. The timing of the discovery closely followed the child’s disappearance.
Police said that after conducting investigations, they arrested and charged Mohamed James Mansaray. Prosecutors alleged that the accused person had a role in the killing, either directly or through actions connected to the reported ritual activities.
When the matter was presented to the accused person in court, it was reported that he was asked not to say anything at that stage of proceedings.
The case is expected to proceed on the 9th June, 2026, where evidence will be presented, and the charges will be tested.
