Grace Lamboi Khadija Saccoh. Victor Onie Williams By Hafsatu Z. Bangura
Murder has a way of shaking society to its core. In the immediate aftermath, there is outrage, headlines scream, protests erupt, and social media boils over with demands for justice. But time moves on, and with it, so does public attention. Investigations slow down, suspects walk free, and justice remains a distant dream.
The victims are left with cold case files, their names whispered in the halls of grieving families who have lost faith in a system meant to protect them. Sierra Leone has seen countless such cases and murders that once gripped the nation but have since faded into obscurity. The brutal slayings of young women, activists, and even children remain unresolved.
Their killers walk among us, and their stories cry out for remembrance and retribution. The Murder of Hannah Bockarie (2015): A Case That Failed Twice. At 17, Hannah Bockarie lived a life many never understood. As a sex worker in Freetown, she faced constant danger. On a quiet morning in 2015, her body was found on Lumley Beach, beaten, raped, and left to die. The city erupted in outrage. Protesters flooded the streets, demanding justice for Hannah. Arrests were made, and suspects were charged. Yet, five years later, in 2020, the courts released Mohamed Lamin and Paul, citing “insufficient evidence.” Hannah’s tragedy was compounded by the system’s inability to convict her killers. Memunatu Jabbie (2019): The Witness Who Never Got to Testify. Hannah’s case should have been a turning point, but it instead spelled doom for another young woman. Memunatu Jabbie, a close friend of Hannah and a key witness in her trial, was found dead in 2019.
Her throat was slit, and her body was discarded in a mangrove swamp along Lumley Beach. Memunatu was meant to testify to bring her friend justice, but instead, her life was brutally taken. The message was clear: silence the witnesses, and justice dies with them. Her murder, like Hannah’s, remains unsolved. Grace Lamboi (2022): Delayed Investigations, Denied Justice. Grace Lamboi was 20 when she was found near Njala Experimental School in Mokonde, Moyamba District.
Like Hannah, she was raped and murdered. However, unlike Hannah, her case never even made it to trial. Although a suspect was arrested, the investigation dragged on with deliberate delays, post-mortem examinations were postponed, and the accused was released on bail. Grace’s family continues to wait, living with grief compounded by bureaucratic inertia. Victor Onie Williams (2024): A Life Cut Short, A Case Kept Quiet. Victor Onie Williams was more than just another headline.
His sudden, violent death sparked conversation online, yet the answers remain elusive. His family, pleading for privacy, speaks volumes about a system so broken that they no longer trust authorities to pursue justice. Instead, they mourn in silence, their cries for accountability lost amid procedural delays and political interference. Fanny Ann Eddy (2004): When Activism Paints a Target. Fanny Ann Eddy was not merely a victim. She was a fighter. As a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, she dedicated her life to advocating for the marginalized in Sierra Leone.
In 2004, allegedly, she was brutally raped and murdered inside the office in Freetown. Rather than catalyzing reform, her death has become yet another unresolved case, a stark reminder that in Sierra Leone, being different can be a death sentence. Sinnah Kai Kargbo (2023): A High-Profile Murder with No Progress. Sinnah Kai Kargbo’s murder is one of the most shocking in recent years. The young woman, employed at Sky Bank, was found dead under suspicious circumstances, a case that drew immediate national attention. The prime suspect, Ikubolaje Nicol, the managing director at Sky Bank, has been arrested and charged. Yet, despite being in court, Nicol’s trial is mired in delays and procedural issues.
The prolonged legal limbo leaves Sinnah’s family and the public in anguish, a painful reminder that justice in Sierra Leone is a slow and uncertain process. Sia Kamara: A Trial Stuck in Limbo. In another glaring example of a failing justice system, Sia Kamara’s boyfriend was arrested and charged with her murder. Despite the case being in court, the trial has dragged on without meaningful progress. The slow pace of the proceedings not only prolongs the suffering of those left behind but also fuels the growing fear that yet another case will fade into oblivion. Khadija Saccoh (2020): A Case of Familial Betrayal and Controversial Verdict. Among the most heart-wrenching cases is that of five-year-old Khadija Saccoh. Her brutal rape and murder sparked widespread protests and drew the attention of Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Bio, a vocal advocate against gender-based violence. Khadija’s case, however, took a disturbing turn when her alleged perpetrators were controversially set free, with claims emerging that she was “initiated into a bond society” rather than raped.
Despite these assertions circulating as a means to absolve the accused, no verified evidence supports such claims. Instead, Khadija’s tragic story stands as a symbol of a justice system that too often sacrifices truth and accountability in the face of societal pressure. What do all these cases have in common? They are not merely acts of violence.
They are betrayals by a system entrusted with protecting its people. They reveal failures of law enforcement, judicial inefficiency, and government agencies that often refuse to cooperate with those seeking the truth. These unresolved cases are a deafening warning: in Sierra Leone, justice is not guaranteed. Lack of forensic investigations, Witnesses are too afraid to testify, Police corruption and inefficiency, Government agencies obstructing transparency. A public that moves on too quickly, Where Do We Go From Here? It is not enough to be outraged for a day, to share a hashtag, or to attend a protest?.
True justice demands persistence and collective action. It requires journalists who dig deeper, a legal system that refuses to be compromised, and a society that will not allow the names of the forgotten to fade into silence. Let the anguish of these unresolved cases, Hannah’s lost promise, Memunatu’s silenced voice, Grace’s unmet plea, Victor’s unanswered questions, Fanny Ann’s brave stand, Sinnah’s delayed trial, Sia’s prolonged limbo, and Khadija’s harrowing betrayal and many more, fuel a revolution of accountability.
We call on our government, our courts, and every citizen to rise as one: and demand transparency, demand justice, and dignity for every victim. Our collective grief must transform into a rallying cry, a relentless refusal to allow impunity to be the legacy of Sierra Leone. Until every perpetrator is held accountable and every life is honored, our fight for justice will never cease.
