By: Alimatu Kargbo
A rising eastern-based rapper John Koroma appeared on two serious charges, wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, after allegedly savaging his female neighbour in a daylight attack that left her bleeding from the head and nose.
But if the 26‑year‑old artist expected celebrity treatment, Magistrate Idrissa Kamara delivered a swift reality check, bail denied.
“Due to the gravity and seriousness of the injuries, this court refuses bail,” Kamara ruled, cutting short defence pleas. “The application is declined. The accused shall remain in custody.”
In a courtroom where fame often draws sympathy, the magistrate made it clear, this was no joke.
Taking the stand as the first prosecution witness, Sarian George, the alleged victim, gave a harrowing account of the morning of August 5, 2026, at her residence at 238 Bai Bureh Road, Wellington.
She told the court that she was home when Koroma, a neighbour with whom she admitted she was not on cordial terms, walked through her compound and dropped an ominous remark;
“We are going to come here again.”
George said she responded in frustration: “Come fight me again, because you always fight me.”
What happened next, she testified, was a violent blur.
“He rushed at me, grabbed my head from the veranda, and forced it between his legs,” she told the court, her voice steady but shaken. “I suddenly felt blood gushing from my head and nose. I screamed for my great‑grandson Joel to help me, but he could not separate us.”
She said it was only when neighbour Victor Songo arrived that the accused released her and fled. She later confirmed that Koroma was wearing a blue shirt that day and that he had pointed at her and called her name, sparking the verbal exchange.
Under fierce cross‑examination by defence counsel M. Turay, George was pressed on whether she had fabricated the story. She was asked if she and the accused were alone at the time, and she answered “yes.” When the lawyer suggested her entire testimony was untrue, she fired back: “All what I have said is true.”
The prosecution produced photographs of her wounds. taken at the Congo Water Police Station, and tendered them as exhibits Z1‑4.
The matter was adjourned to Wednesday, August 12, 2026, for further hearing. Koroma was remanded in custody until the 12th August 2026.
