A jury found a man guilty of murdering his father-in-law within 12 minutes on Wednesday, at the high court in Freetown.
The jury (10 men, 1 woman) found 45-year-old Foday Jusu Yambasu guilty of striking his now deceased 66-years-old father-in-law in the head with a machete…he also beat him with an iron bar.
Yambasu was sentenced to death by hanging.
The jurors spent exactly 12 minutes 13 seconds – before emerging from the deliberating room.
“My lord we have returned. And we have unanimously agreed that Foday Jusu Yambasu is guilty of murder,” jury foreman told Judge Monfred Sesay, presiding judge.
Court records show in late 2018, at Goderich, Western Rural District, Sierra Leone, Yambasu accused his wife, Fatmata Koroma, of having sex with another man in their home – and beat her mercilessly.
The wife then escaped from the house but without her two children – because the husband locked them inside, and threatened to kill them.
So, the wife ran to get her father, Sorie Koroma, to come and rescue the children.
But when the father-in-law arrived, the husband physically attacked him – resulting in his death.
When Judge Sesay asked the convicted man if he had anything to say after the jury had found him guilty, he says no.
“My lord, I have nothing to say. Let the court take it decision,” Yambasu says.
Lawyer Kamanda Kanu, representing Yambasu, pleaded with the court for mercy – on the grounds that he has children and other relatives to care for.
But the judge disagrees.
“The jury have found you guilty. I hereby sentence the convict to death by hanging, by the neck, till he dies,” the judge says.
Credit: TV-News24
