“I was sleeping and dreamt a snake splashed its venom into my eyes. I lost my sight” Sankoh
By Richmond B Tholley
22-year-old convict Saidu Sankoh is crying for help after he got blind behind bars. Sankoh was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for killing one Abdul Koroma in Petifu Mandugu village, Kunike Sanda Chiefdom Tonkolili District. In detention during the trial, he lost his eye sight almost one year ago, according to Harold Momoh, his Defense Lawyer. “I was sleeping when I dreamt a snake splashed its venom into my eyes. I lost my sight since” Sankoh said.
The victim who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on Thursday October 22nd by the Presiding Judge of the High Court in Magburaka, has been in custody since 2017, after he was accused of killing the deceased, one Abdul Koroma, a neighbor and friend. It started with an argument which resulted into a fight that led to the death of Abdul. Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Allieu said Sankoh’s plight is sad and needed intervention. “Though the outcome of this judgement will see him spend another ten years in detention, I’m pleading for the intervention of stakeholders and the government”, he said.
“I am jailing him because his crime is serious and he committed it while he had his sight. But I’m also remorseful because he’s going through difficulties in his life”, Justice Alieu told the Court. He added that It’s sad seeing a young man of his age, serving a sentence and got blind at the same time. But the law is the law.
Saidu Sankoh,a gold miner and resident of Petifu Mandugu village, is currently serving his sentence at the Magburaka correctional center though he has gone blind. Sankoh said he is a victim of circumstance just like any other poor, illiterate and jobless young man in rural sierra Leone. Before his conviction, Sankoh pleaded to the judge to tamper justice with mercy and regretted his action.