March 22, 2023 [Liberia] Day 35: A former child soldier testifies
Witness Soldier 12 is heard
The prosecution questions Soldier 12
The prosecution began by asking about Soldier 12’s participation in fighting in Liberia. The witness testified that he was in the government troops, in the Jungle Fire unit. He joined Jungle Fire in 1999 in Voinjama, when he was 18 years old. His commander was Benjamin Yeaten. The witness named some other commanders: Superman, Issa, Salami, Yaney and Sam Bockarie. Before joining Jungle Fire, Soldier 12 was in the RUF. He joined the RUF as a child, he was abducted in Kono. He estimated that he was 12 years old when he was abducted. The witness listed the names of some of the RUF commanders in Sierra Leone: Superman, Sam Bockarie, Issa Sesay, Kumba Gbodema and Gibril Massaquoi.
The witness testified that he came to Liberia when his commanders in Sierra Leone ordered them to come to Liberia to help Charles Taylor. At the time, there was fighting against LURD rebels in Kolahun but not in Voinjama, where Soldier 12 joined Jungle Fire. Other towns where fighting took place included Foya, Masambolahun, Kamatahun, Bolahun, Vahun, Kungbohun and Camp Alpha. The witness had been to all of these locations.
Soldier 12 testified that Gibril Massaquoi was their commander. He met him the first time in Sierra Leone as a little boy. Gibril Massaquoi was the one who abducted him. When the witness moved to Liberia and joined Jungle Fire in 1999, Gibril Massaquoi was among the commanders who also came to Liberia. Massaquoi had been in the towns and villages where the witness had mentioned fighting had taken place. In these towns and villages, Massaquoi used to go to a room and talk with Benjamin Yeaten, Sam Bockarie and Issa. Massaquoi treated civilians badly. The witness testified that he cut the arms off some civilians, killed others, and stole valuables from some others. Massaquoi put some civilians inside a house, locked the door and set the house on fire in Masambolahun. The witness was there and saw it happen. He could not remember how many people were inside the house.
In addition to Lofa county, Soldier 12 was stationed in Bomi Hills, Bopolu, Klay and Bah during the war. He was stationed in Klay between 2002 and 2003, there was fighting there at the time. He was later transferred to Grand Gedeh. When the war ended, Soldier 12 was in Waterside, Monrovia. He moved from Lofa to Monrovia in 2003 with Benjamin Yeaten, Salami, Yaney, Siome, Ranger and Adjutant. The witness saw Gibril Massaquoi in Monrovia in 2002 or 2003. He saw him five or six times in Monrovia at White Flower, President Taylor’s house. When he saw Massaquoi at White Flower, he was stationed in Klay but had gone to Monrovia to pick up supplies. Massaquoi was not with him on this mission. He was a commander in Monrovia, and Soldier 12 and others just picked up the supplies and went back.
The witness did not know any other names for Gibril Massaquoi. While he was in Monrovia, there was no fighting going on in the city. Right before the war ended, there were battles in Vai Town, Freeport and Waterside. Soldier 12 was also involved in these battles, on the government’s side.
Soldier 12 testified that when he moved from Sierra Leone to Liberia, the war in Sierra Leone had already ended. There was a ceasefire and the UN was present there. When the witness came to Liberia, he was not with Gibril Massaquoi, he came with Sam Bockarie. Massaquoi came to Liberia after them, in the 90s. Massaquoi was not in Kamatahun when Soldier 12 was there, he was in Kolahun at the time. When Soldier 12 was stationed in Klay in 2002 or 2003, he saw Massaquoi come there briefly and continuing his journey as he was not stationed there. Soldier 12 personally saw Massaquoi in Klay when he was stationed there himself.
During the fighting right before the end of the war in Vai Town, Freeport and Waterside, Soldier 12 saw Massaquoi at White Flower. These battles were called World Wars I-III. The witness could not remember the last time he saw Massaquoi in Monrovia. After he had been in Waterside, the UN came and they put their guns down. Massaquoi has already left the country at this point. The witness speculated it was because they were afraid that the soldiers would ask them for their benefits.
The defense questions Soldier 12
The defense began by asking for the witness’ current age. The witness testified that he is 23 years old. The defense pointed out that Soldier 12 had told the Finnish police in his interview that when the ceasefire took place in Sierra Leone in 2000, he moved with Sam Bockarie, Superman, Gibril Massaquoi and their boss Issa Sesay to Liberia to help Charles Taylor. Soldier 12 confirmed this, explaining that they came to Liberia the same way, but not at the same time as they arrived within a week from each other. He testified that Sam Bockarie came to Liberia because Charles Taylor had asked him to come and help him, that’s why they all came. When they came to Liberia, they first stayed in Kolahun for 2 to 3 years. Gibril Massaquoi was not based there, he travelled back and forth between Sierra Leone and Liberia because he was high-ranking. From Kolahun, Soldier 12 and his troops went to Voinjama, where they stayed for a year. Massaquoi used to be there with them, but he was travelling back and forth and he was not stationed in Voinjama. The witness confirmed that he stayed in Vahun for a year and three months and often saw Massaquoi there.
The defense pointed out that Soldier 12 had testified in the lower court that they had initially arrived in Vahun and stayed there for over three years. Soldier 12 confirmed that they had gone to Vahun first after arriving in Liberia. He and his commander stayed in Vahun for a year and three months, but it was their assigned station for three years. The defense further pointed out that Soldier 12 had just mentioned staying in Kolahun for 2 or 3 years, while in the lower court he had testified that they had been in Kolahun for 2 or 7 months. The witness explained that they were not stationed in Kolahun at the time, they were going back and forth between Kolahun and Kungbohun. They were stationed in Vahun and they would patrol between three towns, Vahun, Kolahun and Kungbohun. Whenever they went to Vahun, they would see Massaquoi there.
The witness described how they continued from Voinjama to Masambolahun, then to Kamatahun. He could not estimate how long he had stayed in Masambolahun and Kamatahun. They were patrolling at the front line and did not return to Vahun for a while. The witness then confirmed the numerous villages that he had told the Finnish police that he had gone to patrol. He confirmed that after seven months in Kolahun, the RUF moved to Vahun for about a year. From there, they were moved to Monrovia to fight. Soldier 12 confirmed that he had returned to Vahun from Kolahun and was in Vahun for a year. From there, they were moved to Monrovia. They were in Kamatahun during the dry season.
Soldier 12 estimated that he stayed in Waterside for about a month. The Jungle Fire unit didn’t have a uniform. They wore jeans and a t-shirt with the words ‘Jungle Fire – Man moving, man dropping’ printed on it. The shirts did not have a particular color, some were grey, red or blue. Sam Bockarie was with them in Liberia, but he left to fight in the Ivory Coast. Soldier 12 did not know how Sam Bockarie died. He died in 2003. Soldier 12 was in Nimba with his troop while Sam Bockarie was away in the Ivory Coast. They received word that Charles Taylor had ordered Benjamin Yeaten to kill Sam Bockarie, because Taylor was afraid that Bockarie was going to kill him. Soldier 12 was in Ganta when he found out that Yeaten had killed Bockarie. After receiving the news and after the war had ended, Soldier 12 and others went to Kambea. This was in 2004. They left because they thought people would come after them. The witness went to Kambea to look for work.
The witness explained how the Finnish police had gotten in contact with him. One of his brothers took him to an older brother called Employee 1. Employee 1 told him that someone in the country was looking for RUF fighters from Sierra Leone to talk about their experiences and so Soldier 12 went. His brother gave him directions on how to get to the place. Employee 1 told him that there are white people who wanted to talk to former Sierra Leonean fighters. He told him to go to them to find out what they wanted. The brother who told him about Employee 1 worked on the side of the road, and the witness provided his name to the court. The witness knew [REDACTED], but he was not involved in getting him to testify. The defense pointed out that Soldier 12 had testified in the lower court that his brother who had helped him was called [REDACTED], which he denied.
The defense further pointed out that Soldier 12 had testified in the lower court that he had not spent three years with Gibril Massaquoi in Vahun, as he sometimes went to the frontline while Gibril Massaquoi remained in town because he was a commander. When Soldier 12 would return from the frontline, Gibril Massaquoi was always in town. Soldier 12 confirmed this.
It was pointed out that the witness identified someone other than the defendant as Massaquoi from the series of photographs presented to him at his police interview.
