Charles Taylor was not the man who ordered or planned the attack on a diamond-rich town in Sierra Leone in 1998, a former rebel leader has told the Special Court for Sierra Leone today.
On his fourth day on the witness stand, Issa Sesay today said another rebel group supplied the ammunition used to attack the diamond-rich town of Kono for “Operation Fita Fata” – not Charles Taylor, as prosecutors have alleged. United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO) rebels sold ammunition to a member of his own Sierra Leonean rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), named Kennedy, Mr Sesay said. Kennedy then buried the ammunition before it was eventually handed over to a top RUF commander, Sam Bockarie, who passed on some of it to his colleague, Superman, to launch the attack on Kono, according to Mr. Sesay. (Mr. Sesay is the RUF’s former interim leader, who is serving a 52-year jail sentence in Rwanda for atrocities committed during the brutal 11-year conflict in his West African country).
“The ammunition that Bockarie gave to Superman for Fiti Fata – where did they come from?” asked Mr. Taylor’s lead defense counsel, Courtenay Griffiths.
“It was the ammunition that Kennedy bought from ULIMO that had been buried in the ground,” Mr. Sesay told the court.
“Did the ammunition for the Fiti Fata operation come from Charles Taylor?” Mr. Griffiths asked again.
“No, it did not come from Charles Taylor,” Mr. Sesay responded.
Mr. Sesay explained that Kennedy had established a base in Voinjama–the base of the ULIMO fighters in Liberia– in order to effectively facilitate the arms and ammunition trade with ULIMO. Mr. Sesay said he personally visited Kennedy in Voinjama where he saw the ammunition that had been dug out from the ground and put in rice bags.
“I met Kennedy in Voinjama – I saw the ammunition in his room, he said he had bought them from ULIMO…they were in bags…Kennedy told me that these are the ammunition that I have bought, but they were a bit messy,” Mr. Sesay said.
He said that the bags of ammunition were brought to RUF headquarters in Buedu, in eastern Sierra Leone, and they were cleaned with gasoline before being handed to Superman for the “Fiti Fata Operation.”
Mr. Griffiths read portions of the RUF “salute report” that was presented by Mr. Bockarie to RUF leader Foday Sankoh after his release from prison in Nigeria in 1999. In the report, Mr. Bockarie told Mr. Sankoh that “I renewed my contacts with ULIMO and obtained ammunition from them. It was out of these materials that I gave Superman to attack Kono.”
“Did Charles Taylor plan and order the Fiti Fata mission?” Mr. Griffiths asked again.
“No. It was not Mr. Taylor because as far as I know, Bockarie was not in contact with Mr. Taylor,” Mr. Sesay responded.
Also in his testimony today, Mr. Sesay dismissed allegations that it was Mr. Taylor who sent traditional herbalists to Buedu to perform ceremonies on RUF fighters to protect them from bullets during “Operation Fiti Fata.” In 2008, several prosecution witness — including Samuel Kargbo and Alice Pyne — testified that Mr. Taylor sent these traditional herbalists to perform these ceremonies in Buedu and Kono as part of preparations to attack the diamond-rich town. While Mr. Kargbo testified that he underwent the ceremony in Buedu, Ms. Pyne said that she was present in Buedu when the herbalists arrived, and that she was part of those who underwent the ceremony in Kono. Today, Mr. Sesay told the court that the herbalists were from Lofa County, where ULIMO forces were based, and their services were facilitated by an ex-ULIMO fighter called Titus.
“The medicine men came from Lofa County,” Mr. Sesay said.
“It was one of the ex-ULIMO fighters called Titus, he was a Lorma guy. Titus was a friend of Bockarie and he was a brother to one of our vanguards, Major Moiba. So it was Bockarie who made this request to Major Moiba to get the men who were protecting the ULIMO fighters,” Mr. Sesay said. “They called Titus and Bockarie gave him some money and he came with the people, two men and one woman.”
“They came and treated people in Buedu and then went to Kono and treated people there. They were Lorma people based in Voinjama,” Mr. Sesay said.
Mr. Sesay said that he also personally received treatment from the herbalists.
“What do you say to suggestions that these medicine men were in fact sent by Charles Taylor?” Mr. Griffiths asked.
“That is a black lie,” Mr. Sesay responded.
Mr. Sesay also responded to prosecution testimony that in April 1998, he misplaced diamonds he was supposed to take to Charles Taylor. Several prosecution witnesses had told the court that Mr. Sesay had returned from a trip to Monrovia reporting that the diamonds he was meant to give to the former Liberian president were missing. Mr. Sesay today said he did in fact misplace the diamonds – but that they were not intended for Mr. Taylor. Instead, he said he had planned to take them to Burkina Faso where they were to be sold and exchanged for arms and ammunition. Mr. Sesay said that diamonds were unknowingly dropped at Carey Street in Monrovia during a rainy night.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Taylor regularly received diamonds from RUF rebels –including Mr. Sesay — and said diamonds were sold by the former president to fund arms and ammunition purchases for use by rebel forces in Sierra Leone. Mr. Taylor has denied these allegations.
Mr. Sesay’s testimony continues on Friday.
Convict Issa Sasay is cought in another lie,help me understand this according to Sesay, he had intended to take/sell the diamonds in question as alleged by prosecution witnesses in Burkina Faso for arms & ammunitions, but the diamonds were unknownly dropped at Carey St. in Monrovia during a rainy night, of course it has to be dropped in Monrovia because there where Charles Taylor the mastermind behind all of this carnage lived. The prosecutions witnesses accounts of the diamonds in questions is squarly in the hands of Issa Saysay and his admissions of been with such diamond in Monrovia is not good for Charles Taylor and his defense, especially if he was the interim leader of the RUF who Taylor used as a bargaining chip/levy against other west African lesders and the international community at the time. He ( Issa Sasay ) will continued to be exposed.
Ziggy,
Did Issa say he met Mr. Taylor on that trip?? If not, how did you reach your conclusion? I will say wait for the CROSS of Mr. Sesay…..but the prosecutors better come with their A game for this trial is over.
Ziggy,
DID HE GIVE THE DIAMOND TO TAYLOR? NO..
DID TAYLOR LIVE ON CAREY ST. NO….
DOES CAREY ST. HAVE A COMMERCIAL DIAMOND SALES FACILITY? YES…
COULD ANYONE FROM ANY PART OF THIS WORLD SELL HIS DIAMOND ON CAREY ST? YES….
WAS THE SELLING OF DIAMONDS AT THAT FACILITY LEGAL? YES….
so, there was nothing wrong with the diamond entering liberia…..thank you..
Shame on all those who want Mr.Charles Taylor to go free. The hundreds of thousands of Liberian and Sierra Leone people who went to their early grave because of Charles Taylor’s NPFL, Sankor’s RUF and all the other rebels groups that came after them should not go free my people are still crying in their grave waiting for JUSTICE to be serve and God willing all of those killer will be brought to JUSTICE one day.
Duala,
The right thing to say is, shame on all of those who want Charles Taylor convicted on these calculated lies that have been told against him.
Duala,
Let me remind you that this trial is about Sierra Leone…..There are many WAR LORDS walking the streets of SL including former Pres. Kabbah.
Now if you noticed, we are in a court where evidences are judges and so far, Mr. Taylor is in the lead; WHY?? The prosecutors didn’t do their homeworks…plain and simple. They thought this case was going to be like the ones in SL, where the defendants were SCARE….not Mr. Taylor.
Tracey/Apha,
I am sorry I keep pointing out inaccuracies in Apha’s sumarry of the testimony of Mr Sesay I hope you know that this is because as a staunch supporter of Mr Taylor’s innocence in this case, I take great interest in the importance of Mr Sesay’s testimony – he is the star witness for the defence. That being said, I have quoted part of the second paragraph From Alpha’s sumary above: “United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO) rebels sold ammunition to a member of his own Sierra Leonean rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), named Kennedy, Mr Sesay said. KENNEDY THEN BURIED THE AMMUNITATION BEFORE IT WAS EVENTUALLY HANDED OVER (emphasis mine) to a top RUF commander, Sam Bockarie, who passed on some of it to his colleague, Superman, to launch the attack on Kono, according to Mr. Sesay.”
Well that was not my understanding of Issa sesay’s testimony. Infact according to him it was ULIMO that buried the ammunition in order to avoid handing them over during disarmament. these armunition were then unearthed and sold to Kennedy who was buying armunition for the RUF in voinjama. Issa sessay said he saw 6 bags (rice bags each half filled) at Kenedy’s house in Voinjama which were then transported to the RUF in SL where they were washed in diesel and then dried before been used in the attack on Kono. This detail is important because it explains how the RUF could buy armunition from ULIMO fighters, one year after disarmament was carried out in Liberia.
Thanks Sam — again my mistake in editing the post. I will check the transcript and change if needed.
Best,
Tracey
Dear J Fallah Menjor,
May I trouble you to revise your comment that you submitted on July 26 at 3:43am? The third and fourth sentences could be interpreted as suggesting another person on this blog was involved in crimes, and our policy precludes that from being published. Can you please reforumate and I will happily publish it? Let me know if you need me to send through your original posting by email.
Best,
Tracey
Charles Taylor was the legetimate president of liberia at that in discussion, he had all the legetimate right to arrest and prosecute these men for destablishing a neighbouring country or hand them over to their government. This he failed to do, instead he gave them safe heaven and these guys used his own soil to plan and excute their heineous mahem on the people of Sierra Leone,
Charles Taylor is a perpetrator and the answer is ABSOLUTE GUILT. When Sankoh went to Nigeria and he was caught on clandestine activies which are against the Nigerian soil and it will affect a sister country, he was arrested and imprisoned and latter handed over to the Sierra Leone government for appropriate action.
“Did Charles Taylor plan and order the Fiti Fata mission?” Mr. Griffiths asked again.
“No. It was not Mr. Taylor because as far as I know, Bockarie was not in contact with Mr. Taylor,” Mr. Sesay responded
Issa Sesay to say in 1998 Sam Bockarie had no contact with Charles Taylor signifies how terrible a lier he is. This type of statement is self ascertion based on the individuals opinion of which he is not sure of himself. How comes Charles Taylor to grant Sam Bockarie political asylun and even granted him Liberian citizensip and latter inculcated him in his security forces? If there was no link between the two, such wouldn’t have happened. Mr. prisoner, defense witness you are really telling lies in this court as you did to your veryself in Sierra Leone and today you are in Rwanda for 52 years while you are over 42 years old and by the time you come out, you are 94.
“Mr. Sesay also responded to prosecution testimony that in April 1998, he misplaced diamonds he was supposed to take to Charles Taylor. Several prosecution witnesses had told the court that Mr. Sesay had returned from a trip to Monrovia reporting that the diamonds he was meant to give to the former Liberian president were missing. Mr. Sesay today said he did in fact misplace the diamonds – but that they were not intended for Mr. Taylor. Instead, he said he had planned to take them to Burkina Faso where they were to be sold and exchanged for arms and ammunition. Mr. Sesay said that diamonds were unknowingly dropped at Carey Street in Monrovia during a rainy night”.
Why didn’t Issa Sesay transit through Republic of Guinea Conakry to Burkina Faso if the diamonds were not actual meant for Charles Taylor? And moreover he was in the heart of the city of Monrovia, why didn’t CT arrest them as fugitives after they escape from ECOMOG and hand them over to the government as the Guinean authorities did? These are some clear view to show that CT was the godfather of the RUF.
Therefore no matter how you the pro-Taylor camp view it, your godfather is partly responsible for the carnage and mahem the RUF committed to a neighbouring sister country. Today Taylor is paying the price of his inhuman behaviors no matter whether he is going to be set free as you pro assume or not going to be set free, yet he has been dehumanized as he did to others. He is now in a confined solitude, bravo to the international community. No single man can rise against the world and succeed and surely this is the last point for CT, he has finally reached his doom’s day.Pro-Taylor camp say whatever you would like to say to fuad but please note that I know Issa Sesay better than you all. I know how he became a recruit in the RUF. He was a criminal who duped a merchant millions of Leones and he was been haunted the the law enforcing body which resulted to his escape.
He is a guy who can do evil to gain his aims and objectives and such a person is a thief and a lier. I will really not go in details, That is the price he is paying today.
Two simple questions for you Fuad.
1.) In what year was Sam Bockarie granted assylum in Liberia?
2.) when Issa Sesay went to Monrovia did he go as a guest of the Liberian government?
If you answer this two questions sincerely to yourself you will see the futility of your arguments.
These RUF guys or sierra leonenans in general will never take orders from charles taylor .as far as i understand my country men…they may have colaborated from time to time and will definitely sell diamond to anyone.
So basicly, this is all lies,as i keep saying set up your own war crime court in liberia….and may i take this opportunity to apologise for my country cohersive involvement in your country’ s internal affairs.
Ziggy Salis,
Good point ;however, diamond indeed got dropped and misplaced because it was on the radio. According to report on the radio at the time, few folks found diamonds on carey street. So really, I dont know where according to you Sesay lied. If sesay indeed came to monrovia to give Taylor diamonds, why will the diamond be in his pocket for all those days. I wonder while will such high profile visitor be hosted in African Palace hotel when there were countless guess houses including the now ruin Hotel Africa? Well , I was just trying to understand the lies in Sesay statements, but couldn’t find one.
Now who, in their sound mind, would believe this ramblings about dropping diamonds on Carey Street, which had been intended to buy arms in Bokina Fasu, by General Isa Sasay, who had to go through Monrovia, ViA destination? Except associates or those who stand to loose from such allegation! Isa is in a deep mess come cross examination. He wouldn’t be behind bars for the rest of his pityful life if he was believable in the first place! God Bless your cursed soul, Isa!