First conviction in Sierra Leone under Ebola laws

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon visits an Ebola treatment unit pts1 in Freetown on December 19, 2014, part of his tour of West African countries worst hit by the Ebola virus. A village chief has become the first person in Sierra Leone to be jailed under laws aimed at preventing the spread of the Ebola virus. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Amadu Kargbo was sentenced to six months in jail by a court in the southwestern city of Moyamba for secretly burying the dead and failing to report a sick patient, court official Foday Fofanah told AFP.
  • He was also fined one million leones (Sh21,000, $235) and ordered to spend 21 days in quarantine before going to jail.

FREETOWN,

A village chief has become the first person in Sierra Leone to be jailed under laws aimed at preventing the spread of the Ebola virus, court officials and lawyers said Tuesday.

Amadu Kargbo was sentenced to six months in jail by a court in the southwestern city of Moyamba for secretly burying the dead and failing to report a sick patient, court official Foday Fofanah told AFP.

He was also fined one million leones (Sh21,000, $235) and ordered to spend 21 days in quarantine before going to jail.

Lawyers in the capital Freetown said it was the first known conviction under the country's Ebola laws.

Fofanah said the chief had pleaded guilty to secretly burying his daughter, who had died of Ebola.

He added that Kargbo's wife had also died after attending the funeral of another family member, although it was not clear if any of the charges related to his wife's death and burial.

Ebola has killed more than 7,500 people, almost all of them in west Africa and Sierra Leone recently overtook Liberia as the country with the highest number of Ebola infections.

Authorities have banned public gatherings as well as New Year celebrations as part of sweeping efforts to stem the spread of the virus.