-For Human Trafficking
Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court in Grand Cape Mount County did not only convict Bend V. Kamara for human trafficking, but also sent her to prison for 20 years and ordered her to pay US$58 thousand in restitution to her victims and the Liberian Government.
The Court found Miss Kamara of trafficking many Liberians and others into neighboring Guinea through unscrupulous job schemes. After convicting her for trafficking in persons, the Court concluded that the prosecution had es
Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court sentenced Bendu V. Kamara following her conviction for trafficking in persons, concluding that the prosecution established the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Delivered on Thursday, July 23, 2026, the ruling said Kamara will serve her sentence at the Zwedru Correctional Facility in Grand Gedeh County.
According to the Court’s ruling, victims, including Mustapha Bafalie, Hawa Buttel, and Mohammed Bafalie were reportedly lured with promises of lucrative employment opportunities, but instead, became victims of an organized trafficking operation.
Of the US$58,000 convict Kamara is asked to pay in restitution, US$6,210 is to reimburse the victims for money fraudulently obtained from them, US$32,000 as compensation for the physical and emotional suffering they endured, and US$20,000 to the Government of Liberia to offset the cost of housing and protecting the victims in a safe home throughout the judicial proceedings.
Judge Jabateh-Sirleaf said her ruling was based on compelling evidence adduced to the Court during the trial, including video recordings, witness testimony, and documentary exhibits. A unanimous jury found Kamara guilty during the May Term of Court, A.D. 2026.
Kamara’s own testimony, according to the Court, was an admission that she received money from one of the victims, constituted a confession under Liberia’s criminal procedure laws.
The trafficking scheme, the Court said, enabled the perpetrators to extort thousands of dollars from the victims while exploiting their hopes for better economic opportunities.
In her judgment, Jabateh-Sirleaf ruled that Kamara’s conduct satisfied the legal elements of trafficking in persons under Liberian law, describing the offense as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, or harboring of individuals through deception, coercion, or exploitation of their vulnerability for exploitative purposes.
