3:00pm: Court resumed after lunch break and defense counsel Mr. Anyah continued the cross-examination of Witness TF1-045 Augustine Sama Mallah in open session. Defense counsel asked several questions about Jungle’s trips to Buedu, Taylor’s role in negotiating peace in Sierra Leone, Zigzag Maazah’s testimony and the killing of the alleged Kamajors in Kailahun.
Jungle’s Trips to Buedu
Defense counsel Mr. Anyah asked the witness about the various trips that he had earlier on said Jungle made to Buedu during which he brought arms and ammunition. The witness reiterated his earlier position that he only saw Jungle on two occassions in Buedu. He said that he saw Jungle come with arms and ammunition for the RUF and that on another occassion, it was Jungle who told him he had come with arms and ammunition but that he did not see the materials. Defense counsel asked the witness whether he knew Sallay Duwor. The witness said he knew no such person. The witness said that he never saw Sallay Duwor in Buedu. Defense counsel referenced another witness’s testimony that Jungle went to Buedu with Sallay Duwor but the witness said he had no knowlege of that. The witness also cannot say whether Jungle was based in Buedu with Bockarie when ULIMO cut off the route between Sierra Leone and Liberia. Defense counsel also referenced witness’s earlier statement in which he stated that he had seen Jungle on many occasions when he went to Buedu but that in court, he had said he saw him only two times.
Taylor’s Role in the Sierra Leone Peace Process
Defense counsel sought to establish the role played by Mr. Taylor in negotiating Sierra Leone’s peace process. In doing this, counsel referenced portions of the testimony of former Liberian Vice President Moses Blah and asked the witness whether he agreed with some of Blah’s positions. Blah, in his testimony said that Taylor closed the Liberian/Sierra Leone border in order to stop the movement of RUF and NPFL fighters between the two countries. The witness responded that the said close of the border was only for the attention of the international community but that it was open to combatants from both factions. Blah in his testimony said that the border was closed to put pressure on the RUF but the witness said that this was not the case.
Defense counsel referenced a document from Sierra Leone news achives about Taylor facilitating negotiations between Johnna Paul Koroma and Foday Sankoh in the presence of members of the international community in Liberia. He further referenced Taylor’s efforts in making the Lome Peace Agreement possible. The witness agreed with the provisions of the document but could not verify them independently.
Zigzag Maazah
Defense counsel asked the witness whether he heard any portion of Zigzag Maazah’s testimony. The witness said that he heard just a small portion of it. He said that he heard Maazah say he killed Sam Bockarie on orders from Taylor. Asked whether he believed Maazah when he said so, the witness said that he originally did not believe that it was Taylor who gave such instructions but when he heard Maazah make such confession, he believed that was the case.
The witness in his testimony said he only saw Maazah in Buedu in 1999. Defense counsel referenced Maazah’s testimony that he made more than 40 trips to Buedu with supplies for the RUF from Liberia. The witness said that while he heard a lot about Maazah, he only saw him once.
Senegalese
The witness was asked whether he knew a man called Senegalese. The witness responded that he knew Senegalese and that he saw him when they crossed to Bopolo, he saw him when they went to Ivory Coast and when they returned to Monrovia, and that he saw him in Sierra Leone. The witness said that Senegalese was a former ULIMO commander and that when he (Senegalese) went to Kenema, he(the witness) gave him money to travel to Freetown. He said that Senegalese had more association with Sam Bockarie than Mike Lamin. He said he did not see Senegalese bring arms and ammunition for the RUF.
Killing of Alleged Kamajors in Kailahun
Defense counsel asked the witness about the killing of civilians accused of being Kamajors in Kailahun. He said that Bockarie originally told him that some civilians had been captured and sent to Kailahun for investigations. He said that when they got to Kailahun, Gbao told them the people were Kamajors and they were executed. Defense counsel referenced the witness’s testimony in the AFRC trial that the MP commander in Kailahun at that time was Joe Vandi. In his testimony in the Taylor trial, he said the MP was Joe Fatorma. Asked to clarify the discrepancy, the witness said that he was Joe Fatorma. The witness also retracted an earlier statement that Issa Sesay and Tom Sandi were present when the people were executed. The witness stated that he also took part in the said execution but he was scared that if he had admitted that to the prosecution, he would have been arrested. He said that he wanted to cover his role in the incident.
Court adjourned for the day.