A High Court sitting in Freetown has sentenced two customs officers to prison after finding they demanded and received a bribe to speed up the clearing of a shipping container at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay, a case the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said exposed how routine port processes can be turned into private paypoints.
Honourable Justice Aiah Simeon Allieu, a Court of Appeal Judge sitting as a High Court Judge, convicted Akmed Karim and Mary Banya on two counts of corruption offences under the Anti-Corruption Act No. 12 of 2008. The court heard that the officers solicited and accepted Le 2,500,000 (old leones) to facilitate the release of a container owned by Juan Ruiz, an American businessman.
According to the prosecution, the demand was made on 28 February 2019 through Sigismond Tommy Mei, who worked as an Operations Assistant at Bollore Logistics and whose duties included facilitating the clearing of goods. Karim, of No. 49 Matindi House, Brookfields, and Banya, of No. 26 Parsonage Street, Kissy, were said to have requested the money “without lawful consideration” as the price for moving the container through the clearing process.
Both officers pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial, maintaining they were innocent and denying any knowledge of receiving the money. The ACC, however, called ten witnesses as it built its case.
Ruiz told the court he is involved in the exportation of sand-based minerals, and explained how the container in question reached Sierra Leone. He testified that in 2018, Alan Jenkins shipped a 40-foot container to him, and that problems arose during the clearing process when the defendants allegedly demanded money to facilitate its release.
Mei’s testimony became central to the prosecution’s account. He told the court he was present when the two officers demanded Le 2,500,000 for the container to be released, and that they would not proceed without payment. “I prevailed on them to release the container, but they refused until the amount was given to them,” he testified.
The ACC’s investigator, Lucy Kabba, also gave evidence, telling the court that the investigation produced what she described as compelling material to justify bringing the matter to trial. After reviewing the evidence, Justice Allieu ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and found both Karim and Banya guilty on both counts.
During sentencing, the defence asked for leniency. Counsel C. Pujeh Esq. told the court that Banya is a mother and the principal caregiver for her family, adding that she had recently lost her mother, whose death he linked to stress caused by the criminal proceedings. For Karim, counsel said he was unwell and only months away from retirement.
The ACC prosecutor, J. Deen-Tarawalie Esq., urged the court to impose a stiffer punishment, arguing that even though the charges were brought under the 2008 Act, the court could still take account of the 2019 Amendment Act and Parliament’s intention to tighten the anti-corruption regime. He also told the court that the accused had wasted judicial time and state resources by contesting the case, and called for custodial sentences of not less than five years or a fine of not less than Le60,000 as a stronger deterrent.
Justice Allieu said he had considered submissions from both sides, but noted that the offences fell under the 2008 law. The court sentenced both convicts to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of thirty thousand new leones on count one, and thirty thousand new leones or three years’ imprisonment on count two.
Read Also: TechCabal Honours Minister Salima Monorma Bah for Driving Sierra Leone’s Technology Transformation
The proceedings also featured a third customs officer, Momodu Allieu Sow of No. 7 College Road, Freetown, who faced similar allegations tied to the same quay. Sow was accused of soliciting and accepting Le 3,000,000 from Mei between 1 December 2018 and 28 February 2019, allegedly to undervalue a boat belonging to Ruiz. In his ruling, Justice Allieu acquitted and discharged Sow, finding that the state had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the circumstantial evidence was insufficient to convict him.
The mixed verdict — convictions for two officers and an acquittal for the third — underscored the court’s approach to weighing testimony and evidence, while the sentences marked a clear warning that bribery linked to port clearance processes can carry real criminal consequences.
