02/07/2026
GOL Wins Another Human Trafficking Case...
-Female Trafficker Found Guilty
ROBERTSPORT, GRAND CAPE MOUNT COUNTY – After more than two months of trial proceedings before the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court for Grand Cape Mount County, a unanimous jury has found Bendu V. Kamara guilty of Trafficking in Persons, Theft of Property, and Criminal Conspiracy for her role in a cross-border human trafficking scheme that lured unsuspecting Liberians to the Republic of Guinea under false promises of employment in Senegal.
The Defendant was originally indicted together with her children and several co-defendants during the August Term A.D. 2025 by the Grand Jury of Grand Cape Mount County. The indictment charged the accused with conspiring to recruit, deceive, transport, and exploit vulnerable Liberians through fraudulent promises of overseas employment. The prosecution alleged that the victims were deceived into believing they were traveling to Senegal for legitimate employment but were instead trafficked to Guinea, where they were exploited and pressured to recruit additional victims into the same scheme.
When the case was called for trial during the May Term A.D. 2026, Defendant Bendu V. Kamara successfully moved the Court for a severance, resulting in her being tried separately from the remaining defendants.
According to evidence presented during trial, the trafficking scheme began when Victim Mustapha Barfalie established contact with Diana Kamara, one of the Defendant's daughters, through Facebook Messenger. Diana falsely claimed to be employed by Sonatel in Senegal and promised to secure employment for the victim if he could contribute money toward processing his travel documents. To reinforce the deception, Diana referred Mustapha to her mother, Bendu Kamara, who confirmed the representations and personally encouraged him to proceed with the arrangement.
The prosecution established that the Defendant persuaded Mustapha to sell his family's property by assuring him that, like her own children and husband, he would become successful after traveling abroad. She allegedly displayed photographs portraying her family members as wealthy and prosperous in Senegal, convincing the victims that the opportunity was genuine. Relying upon those representations, Mustapha sold family property in Brewerville for US$6,500.00 and paid US$1,370.00 to the Defendant to facilitate his travel.
Evidence further showed that the Defendant coordinated Mustapha's transportation through commercial driver Ibrahim Bah, who transported him through Guinea under the representation that Guinea was merely a transit point before continuing to Senegal. Instead, Mustapha was received in Guinea by members of the trafficking network, including several co-defendants, where his money and telephone were confiscated, his freedom was restricted, and he was pressured to recruit additional victims into the organization.
While stranded in Guinea, Mustapha was compelled to contact his family in Liberia and request that his brother, Mohamed Barfalie, and his fiancée, Hawa Buttel, also travel. Acting on those requests, Alieu Barfalie delivered an additional US$2,740.00 to the Defendant for their transportation. The Defendant accepted the money and arranged for both victims to be transported to Guinea through the same route and by the same driver.
The victims testified that after only one week of favorable treatment, they spent approximately six months under deplorable conditions in Guinea. They described being deprived of adequate food, confined to a restricted compound, forced to perform labor to survive, and repeatedly instructed to recruit additional persons through Facebook Messenger by falsely portraying themselves as successful workers living abroad.
The prosecution's case was supported by testimony from six principal witnesses, including the victims themselves, officers of the Liberia National Police, the purchaser of the victims' family property, and an eyewitness who experienced a similar trafficking scheme operated by members of the same network. Documentary evidence, including police investigative reports, photographs, video recordings, and electronic call records, was also admitted into evidence.
Although the Defendant denied deceiving the victims, she admitted receiving the victims' money and assisting with transportation arrangements. Several defense witnesses also acknowledged the existence of the recruitment organization in Guinea, admitted that participants were required to recruit additional persons to advance within the organization, and confirmed that members were encouraged to portray false images of success on social media to attract new recruits. Their testimonies further revealed significant inconsistencies regarding where the Defendant's family resided, how transportation was arranged, and the circumstances surrounding the victims' travel.
One of the most significant pieces of rebuttal evidence came from Orange Liberia telephone records, which contradicted testimony that the Defendant had never contacted the transport driver. The call records confirmed communication between the Defendant and the driver immediately before the victims departed Liberia, corroborating the prosecution's contention that she actively coordinated the transportation.
Following the close of evidence, the Republic of Liberia, represented by County Attorney Cllr. Nyonkpao R.G. Daye and Associate Prosecutor Cllr. Peter Howard, argued that the evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that the Defendant knowingly recruited, deceived, transported, and conspired with others to traffic the victims for financial gain. The Defense, represented by Cllr. Boima Paswee and Cllr. Bokia Kamara, maintained that the victims traveled voluntarily and urged the Court and Jury to acquit the Defendant.
After receiving comprehensive legal instructions from the Court, the trial jury retired to deliberate. Upon returning to open court, the jurors unanimously found Bendu V. Kamara GUILTY on all three counts contained in the indictment—Trafficking in Persons, Theft of Property, and Criminal Conspiracy. Every member of the jury voted in favor of conviction.
Presiding Judge His Honor Mamiata Jabateh Sirleaf, Assigned Circuit Judge, accepted and recorded the unanimous guilty verdict as the verdict of the Court. Following the announcement of the verdict, the Court ordered the immediate incarceration of the Defendant pending final judgment and sentencing, which has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
The verdict marks a significant milestone in Liberia's continuing efforts to combat human trafficking and protect vulnerable citizens from transnational trafficking networks operating under the guise of overseas employment opportunities.
