Man Gets 25 Years for Burning Baby’s Hands Over Alleged Soup Theft
At the High Court in Freetown on December 3rd, 2025, Judge Andrew S.C. Johnson handed down a 25-year prison sentence to 39-year-old Ibrahim Tarawalie after convicting him of deliberately burning the hands of a one-year-old child. The crime charged under Section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861 involved grievous bodily harm inflicted on baby Abu Bakarr Dolleh on July 31st, 2024 in Freetown.
The prosecution presented testimony from three witnesses, including a police officer who described how the infant was brought to the station with severe burns on both hands. Allegedly, Tarawalie pressed the child’s hands onto red-hot charcoal in punishment for supposedly stealing soup. The medical evidence confirmed the baby suffered severe burns, permanent scarring and disfigurement. An eyewitness told the court Tarawalie had threatened to burn the child’s hands before carrying out the act while the baby screamed in pain.
After the incident, a teacher having noticed the child’s absence from school urged the family to report the matter to police, which they eventually did. The defence offered no testimony except to repeat Tarawalie’s earlier denial.
In sentencing, Judge Johnson declared the act “deliberate, premeditated, cruel and sadistic,” noting the permanent damage to the victim and the betrayal of trust placed in Tarawalie by the Ministry of Social Welfare. He said the gravity and brutality of the offence warranted the maximum penalty acceptable under the law.
