By Dora Bangura
A High Court in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, on Tuesday sentenced a 24-year-old woman to 11 months in prison after she pleaded guilty to eating a plate of rice and drinking a soft drink at a restaurant without paying.
Justice Mohamed Bawoh delivered the sentence to Kadija Kamara, who had been on remand since April 2025 following the incident at Alfisher Restaurant in Freetown.
The court said it considered Kamara’s plea for mercy, her expression of remorse and the fact that she is a single mother of a two-year-old child before passing the sentence.
Kamara told the court that her boyfriend had taken her to the restaurant and ordered the meal before leaving, saying he would return, but never did. When restaurant staff asked her to pay for the food, she said she had no money, leading to her arrest.
She was subsequently taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Freetown, where she remained in custody while the case was processed.
During court proceedings, Kamara also alleged that she was tortured while in detention and sustained injuries that required medical treatment at a hospital. The allegations were not immediately verified.
Her lawyer told the court that Kamara is a first-time offender who cooperated with the judicial process and did not waste the court’s time. The defence also said she had not seen her two-year-old child during the 11 months she spent in detention and that none of her relatives visited her during that period.
State prosecutors, led by Ronissa Beverley Harteston, said the offence occurred on April 21, 2025.
The case has drawn attention on social media and among legal observers in Sierra Leone, where concerns are often raised about prolonged pre-trial detention and prison conditions.
