Thursday December 4, 2008
12:00pm: Court resumed and defense counsel Terry Munyard continued the cross-examination of Witness Dauda Fornie, aka DAF. Before defense counsel continued the cross-examination of the witness, presiding judge Teresa Doherty infomed all parties that pursuant to early points raised by both defense and prosecution counsel about the conclusion of the testimony of the witness viz-a-vis the court recess, the bench had decided that the court will proceed with hearings until the witness finishes his testimony. Defense counsel Terry Munbyard responded that in view of the recess which was already anticipated next week, the defense team had planned meetings with people coming from West Africa and that the meetings were likely to be disrupted. The judges said that counsel had not informed them of any such meetings when making the original application. They asked counsel to continue with cross-examination while the issue is being looked into.
Cross-Examination Continues
Defense counsel continued his line of questioning about problems between Superman and Sam Bockarie and the distinction between the AFRC abd the RUF viz-a-viz the January 1999 invasion of Freetown.
Disagreements Between Superman and Sam Bockarie
Counsel referenced the salute report written by Bockarie to Sankoh which had been presented in the morning session. The report stated that the RUF and AFRC were uneven partners. It also talked about diamonds that were sold by a Lebanses businessman with a commission given to the AFRC government and 9 million leones given to Superman which he squandered. The report further stated that Superman refused to take orders from Bockarie. The witness responded that he did not know about the sale of the diamonds. The report also stated that Bockarie renewed contacts with ULIMO and got materials from them . It said the materials were given to Superman to attack Kono. Superman attacked Kono, captured part of the town, captured materials but focussed on looting and therefore lost the ground to the enemy. It said that with the captured materials from Kono, Superman advanced to Kabala and joined SAJ Musa there. The witness responded that he did not know these details and did not know of Bockarie purchasing materials from ULIMO. He said he cannot recall any Kono attack that brought discord between Superman and Bockarie. On the issue of Superman having a Lebanese girlfriend whom Bockarie said was disturbing military operations, the witness said he was aware that most RUF commanders were not happy with Superman about this. The report also stated that when a meeting was called to discuss these issues, Superman refused to attend and he insulted the other commanders including the War Council Chairman SYB Rogers. The witness said he was not aware of Superman using invectives against Pa Rogers as stated in the report. He said that Sankoh later realised that most of the allegations made against Superman were false. The witness,however, said he knew of Superman attacking RUF positions in Makeni, thus leading to a conflict with Rambo. The witness agreed that there was infighting between Superman and Bockarie. The witness said he was not aware that SAJ Musa and the SLAs refused Bockarie’s orders for them to take part in the Kono attack. Asked whether he was aware of Musa and others wanting to form a splinter group, the witness said he had no such knowlege. He said that he was aware that Musa and others wanted to restore the Sierra Leone army and that the RUF were not part of the plan.
January 1999 Invasion of Freetown
The witness agreed that SAJ Musa wanted the SLA to enter Freetown before the RUF but that the RUF were still part of the troops that entered Freetown in January 1999. He said he heard Bockarie’s interview on BBC in which he said the RUF fighters were advancing to Freetown and disclosed the location they were occupying at that moment. Upon hearing the interview, ECOMOG launched bombs on the positions occupied by the invading forces. SAJ Musa then called Bockarie and insulted him, telling him that the RUF should not lay any claim to the invasion of Freetown. The witness said he was aware of problems between the two men. The witness disagreed with counsel that it was troops loyal to SAJ Musa that entered Freetown in 1999. He said that the troops that entered Freetown took direct orders from Bockarie. He said that when SAJ Musa died on the way to Freetown, Gullit contacted Bockarie through RUF radio operator King Perry. He said Bockarie told Gullit to wait in Benguema until reinforcements arrived but Gullit said that once ECOMOG troops were on the run, it was necessary to advance into Freetown. When asked how many troops entered Freetown in 1999, the witness said he cannot estimate how many of them did.
Court adjourned for lunch-break.