Monrovia — Two defense witnesses have confirmed the accounts of other witnesses that an alleged Sierra Leonean warlord was in Liberia during its second civil war.
But "Defense 5" and "Defense 12" claimed although Gibirl Massaquoi, a former commander for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), of Sierra Leone, was here between 1999 and 2000, it was only for peace purposes, and that he did come along with Foday Sankoh, the rebel group's leader, and other top officials of the group.
"Gibril was appointed as head of the peace delegation in 2000, and the delegation traveled to Monrovia late 2000 during the rainy season," said Defense 12. "The peace process [for Sierra Leone], was signed on November 10th, 2000."
Defense 5, who like Defense 12, told Finland's Turku Court of Appeal on Friday he was an ex-RUF soldier, corroborated the testimony of his fellow witness.
"After the signing of the peace delegation in Abuja [Nigeria], in late 2000 and 2001, Gibril returned to Sierra Leone, conducting meetings with the international committee, the government of Sierra Leone and the RUF," he said.
The years are crucial to the appeal hearings before the Court of Appeal, as they were during the trial in the Pirkanmaa Court District of Tampere. Some prosecution witnesses have alleged that Massaquoi committed crimes, including locking up civilians, suspected of supporting rebels from the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), who had launched an insurgency on Charles Taylor's government in Lofa County. Taylor had sent for the RUF soldiers to beef up the strength of his forces against the insurgents, according to the witnesses. Many witnesses have also alleged that Massaquoi was at the Waterside market in Monrovia in 2002 and 2003 and killed, or ordered his soldiers to kill civilians, who were "looting" in stores. The contentious point about the last two years is that Massaquoi's lawyers are arguing that he was a "protected" witness for the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, so it was impossible for him to have been in Liberia at that time. They've also argued he committed no crimes. And their witnesses on Friday looked to have validated the lower Court, which acquitted their client a year ago.
"Gibril was responsible to send information to all correspondents and he was responsible to process all documents relating to the RUF," Defense 12 said.
Defense 12 said after Massaquoi's appointment by Sankoh as his special assistant, members of the RUF were attacked by civilians at Sankoh's residence--an attack he said, that saw the capture of the latter. The civilians were unhappy that Sankoh had refused to sign a July 1999 peace agreement in Lome, Togo, according to the witness.
He said afterwards, Issa Sesay, a top RUF commander, became the interim leader of the group, while Gibril was appointed as head of an external delegation, tasked to form part of the peace process in Sierra Leone.
The witness said Jengab Kobeh, Adbul Swaray and Abdul Razark were the other members of the RUF delegation that came to Monrovia to meet some members of ECOWAS, who were guests of Taylor. He said ECOWAS used Taylor's influence over the RUF to convince them to a peace deal with the Sierra Leonean government and other warring factions at the time.
"They [ECOWAS leaders], did that because he [Taylor] was always accused of being part of the RUF."
The witness said after the delegation traveled to Abuja following the meeting, Massaquoi never came back to Liberia.
"He was meeting with the international committee," he said. The witness, a former RUF fighter, did however say that Sesay ordered a top RUF commander to return to Liberia with separate reinforcement forces to strengthen Taylor's troops and repel a fresh attack from LURD.
"I was with OG when we brought the men and we passed through Koindu in Sierra Leone and met them at one location call Meneykoma," said Defense 12. "It's in Liberia."
Defense 5 also claimed he did not see Massaquoi on the frontlines in Liberia. He said Eagle Kanneh, another top RUF commander, came to Liberia with a separate group of soldiers, also on Sesay's orders.
"I was in Makeni when he (Kanneh), was given that command to Eagle to clear the road from Voinjama to Foya," Defense 5 said.
But on cross examination, there was a drama, when the proceedings were halted for five minutes, because the man, who claimed to be Massaqoi's brother, could not call any of the nicknames witnesses have associated with the former RUF spokesman.
"The Finnish Police asked me the question as to whether Gibril code name was Angel and I told them something like it has taken a long time, so I told them I was going to think about it, said Defense 5. "And when I went home, I remembered his code name was Gaffa and not Angel."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Another point of contention was the length of time Massaquoi travelled between Liberia and Sierra Leone. The witness couldn't give a clear answer.
"I cannot remember, but he used to go and come till we disarmed."
The hearings continue on Monday, the start of their final week. The proceedings will end on Tuesday. The Court is expected to return to Liberia in May to listen to testimonies from mainly defense whiteness, who will have to travel to Liberia. In what legal experts and justice advocates see as a bizarre move, the Sierra Leonean government, which had initially accepted the District Court's request to hear witnesses there under a "mutual legal assistance," did not approve Appeal Court's request to do likewise. Sierra Leone, unlike Liberia, has openly embraced accountability for past crimes, with the prosecutions of Taylor and other RUF leaders for their roles in the Sierra Leonean civil war.
The coverage of the appeal of Massaquoi's acquittal is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
Forgbe Emma Kloh With New Narratives
