Court Orders Production of Deceased’s Phone in Abdul Kpaka Murder Trial

The High Court in Freetown has ordered the production of a mobile phone belonging to the deceased in the ongoing murder trial of Abdul Kpaka, who is accused of allegedly killing his fiancée.

The directive was issued following an application by the defence team amid disputes over the admissibility of electronic evidence presented before the court.

The decision was made on Wednesday during proceedings presided over by Justice Ganda, where the defence requested that the court subpoena the deceased’s mobile phone and compel the Judiciary’s IT Department to retrieve email exchanges between the accused and the deceased.

The prosecution, however, opposed the application, raising concerns over procedure and the authenticity of the digital materials.

State Prosecutor Yusif Isaac Sesay argued that the defence had not properly specified multimedia content such as videos and audio recordings in its initial notice. He further noted that the prosecution had relied on printed versions of emails submitted as evidence, and questioned whether proper evidentiary foundations had been established for the additional materials.

The defence countered that the prosecution had been duly informed of its intentions and maintained that the materials in question were already embedded in exhibits before the court. They further argued that some of the evidence included audio and video files that could not be adequately assessed without direct access to the original device.

They also noted that a subsequent notice clarified the nature of the electronic evidence and urged the court to allow the production of the phone to ensure full and fair examination of the materials.

In his ruling, Justice Ganda held that the primary source of the evidence must be produced to enable proper judicial evaluation. He therefore ordered the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in collaboration with the prosecution, to produce the deceased’s mobile phone.

The case has been adjourned to May 6, 2026, for continuation of the proceedings.