The family of the late Sheik Ramadan Bangura is still demanding the reopening of the case despite the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) is reported to have allegedly advised CID headquarters that they did not see any evidence that connect the two suspects to the death of the deceased.
But Sheik Ramadan Bangura’s family is not satisfied with the DPP office’s advice because of what the autopsy report reveals. According to the postmortem, conducted by Dr Simeon Owiss Koroma at the Connaught Hospital Mortuary dated 6 July 2022, the cause of death are: “Multiple blunt force fractures”; “injuries of the head, neck, chest, abdomen, the spine and the right leg” and that these were the consequence of “severe physical assault” through “manual strangulation with finger nail”.
That autopsy report, by the Consultant Forensic Pathologist at the Connaught Hospital, is at variance with what the two suspects told investigators at the Waterloo Police Station. The two suspects are Edward John Bull of Peacock Farm at Wellington, and Foday A. Komba alias “Koblo” of No.1 Bangura Drive, Rokel Village.
According to the suspects, on 2 July 2022 they and the deceased hang-out at the “Empire” nightclub around the PZ area in Freetown. They reportedly explained that whilst they were in the club, Sheik Ramadan Bangura bought them drinks and also bought for himself drink called “Gladi Gladi”. They further explained that the deceased left them downstairs and went upstairs.
After sometime, the suspects reportedly continued their explanations; someone alerted them that the deceased had collapsed. So, they went upstairs and saw Sheik Ramadan Bangura lying down on the floor. They alleged that while the deceased was being resuscitated, he told them that he should be taken to a place called “The Pool” at Devil Hole in the Western Area Rural District.
When they reached “The Pool”, police investigators were said to have been told, they incidentally met the owner called Daniel. When the owner checked inside the car and saw the deceased, who was once a Manager of “The Pool”, lying down; he reportedly advised the suspects to take Sheik Ramadan Bangura to the nearest hospital.
Being that The Pool’s owner, Daniel, knew Sheik Ramadan Bangura he allegedly joined the suspects to take the deceased to the nearest hospital which happened to be the ADRA Hospital at Waterloo. But upon arrival at the hospital, the medical personnel they met refuse them entry because he suspected that Sheik Ramadan Bangura was already dead.
So, the owner of “The Pool” was said to have contacted one Mr Abdul Sillah who is an uncle of the deceased and informed him that Sheik Ramadan Bangura was dead. He then reportedly reported the matter at the Waterloo Police Station.
After that the two suspects, Edward John Bull of Peacock Farm Wellington and Foday A. Komba alias “Koblo” of No.1 Bangura Drive Rokel Village, were arrested and detained for further investigation whilst the corpse was taken to the Connaught Hospital Mortuary.
Despite he was a Muslim and should have been buried the next day, Sheik Ramadan Bangura’s family was not satisfied with the explanation given to the police by the suspects; so they decided that an autopsy should be done on their beloved relative.
After the autopsy report came out, a new investigation was opened because it was at variance with what the suspects reportedly told the police. But after sometime, the police were said to have got back to the family of the deceased and told them that they had forwarded the file (C/R2720/2022) to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
Later, the police said the office of the DPP had sent their advice (dated 22 August 2022) to the Head of Criminal Investigations Department. It is said that they advised that the case should not be prosecuted because they did not see any sufficient evidence that connect the suspects with the death of Sheik Ramadan Bangura; so the suspects were released “unconditionally”.
When the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) was reportedly contacted through normal phone message by the presenter of a radio programme called “Burning Issues” of Culture Radio, Raymond Bai Kamara, in relation to the case, he reportedly said: “I have not before or in recent time instructed the police on any such matter under investigation. I will advise you do proper investigation as to firstly whether any such case has or had been forwarded to my office for advice and whether there is any advise by way of memo from me or my office and lastly the C/R number of the file, if at all a file has been generated on the case in question. Conclusively, I know of no such matter let alone instruct the police to release the suspects”.
But the family of the deceased are still not convinced that there are no evidence to connect the suspects with the death of their relative. So, they have written a letter to the Inspector General of Police, dated 19 January 2023, in which they asked him to use his good office to “…reinstitute the investigation of the death of Sheik Ramadan Bangura now that the DPP has distanced himself from the investigation and denied knowledge of instructing the Police to release the two suspects Foday A. Komba (alias Koblo) and Edward John Bull and it appears that MIST [Major Incident Support Team] has perverted justice”.
The deceased family concludes their letter by once again asking the Inspector General of Police to reinstitute the investigation “so that the family members and relatives of the late Sheik Ramadan Bangura will have justice”.
The Nationalist is continuing with its investigations.