May 5, 2023 [Liberia] Day 48: Defense witnesses from Sierra Leone

May 5, 2023 [Liberia] Day 48: Defense witnesses from Sierra Leone

Witness Defense 13 is heard

The defense questions Defense 13

The defense began by asking where Defense 13 had met Gibril Massaquoi. Defense 13 testified that she had met him in Freetown in 2000, she could not remember the exact month. He was working as an assistant to the RUF’s leader, Foday Sankoh. Defense 13 heard him speaking on the news, he was a spokesman. He worked on Spur Road and lived in Thunder Hills, in Kissi, Freetown. Defense 13 lived in Tembe Town and Patton Street. Defense 13 and Gibril Massaquoi did not live together in Freetown. He was living with his wife, brother, cousin and children. The witness never went to his apartment, he would come to her in Tembe Town. The witness and Gibril Massaquoi were dating. He visited her many times.

Defense 13 testified that Massaquoi travelled abroad. After the 8 May event in Freetown, he went to Abidjan. The witness herself went to Banjul, The Gambia. While she was there, he contacted her and told her that he was going to Monrovia for peace talks. Many people were being chased after 8 May 2000 and the witness had to escape, it took her two months at most to go to The Gambia. In Banjul, she used a satellite phone to contact Gibril Massaquoi. He told her he was staying in the province in Sierra Leone, because he could not be in the city. The witness could not recall the places he said he went to. Gibril told her that he was on his way to Monrovia, so she left The Gambia and went to Monrovia. She could not recall when she left, estimating that it was in August 2000. The witness reached Monrovia before Gibril, but he arrived not long after. When she first got to Monrovia, she was living with two friends whose names she provided to the court. Gibril Massaquoi was living in a guest house at the time. They would visit each other in Monrovia, she went to the guest house once. Later, Gibril and the other people living in the guesthouse moved and rented an apartment in Congo Town. At the guesthouse, he lived with Abdul Razak and others. Abdul Razak had a girlfriend, but the witness could not recall her name. Massaquoi came to her every time he wanted to, he came daily if he could. He also spent the night at the witness’ place a few times.

The witness testified that she got pregnant in Monrovia, around September. A month after her arrival, she found out that she was pregnant. The child was born in Freetown. Gibril left Defense 13 in Monrovia when he left for Freetown. Not long later, she also travelled to Freetown. This was in 2000. According to Defense 13, the child was born on 5 July 2001. She could not recall how long after her arrival in Freetown the child was born. When the witness arrived in Freetown, Massaquoi was in Thunder Hills, Kissi, with his wife. When asked about his work, the witness testified: “I only know he was going about the peace process, because he was a key player in the peace process”. Defense 13 testified that she saw Gibril in Freetown before the birth of her child, he stayed with her until she gave birth. They met every 2 to 3 days until the child’s birth. He also came to see her and the child often after Defense 13 had given birth. They always met at her place. He stopped visiting in 2002 or 2003, the witness heard from one of his family members that he was working with the UN and trying to get Foday Sankoh in court. This was in early 2003. She did not know where he was living when he was working with the UN.

The prosecution questions Defense 13

The prosecution began by asking about the timing of Defense 13’s meeting Massaquoi in Freetown. She clarified that they had met before 8 May 2000. When she was in The Gambia and they spoke on the satellite phone, she knew that he was in Freetown because she called him, not the other way around. When she left him in Freetown, nobody knew where anyone was. When she called him from The Gambia, she was under the impression that he was in the province. She called shortly after arriving to Banjul, but she could not estimate how long after 8 May 2000 this was. They spoke through the satellite phone several times and he told her that he was going to Monrovia. Massaquoi had the satellite phone with him. The witness paid for the trip from Banjul to Monrovia herself.

Defense 13 did not know of someone called Defense 09 living in the guest house in Monrovia, testifying that anyone could have lived there. She did not know who owned the guest house. Massaquoi travelled to West Africa from Monrovia, to Nigeria and Mali. He was never gone for a long time. This was in autumn 2000, as the witness was back in Freetown in 2001. She left for Freetown because she did not want to give birth in Monrovia. Massaquoi had returned to Freetown before Defense 13 left Monrovia.

The prosecution pointed out that Defense 13 had testified in the lower court that she was uncertain about the date of birth of her child, but had mentioned the date 5 June. The witness maintained that her child was born on 5 July 2001. She gave birth at home and remembered the date. She did not register the child at the hospital. The witness provided the name of the child to the court. She confirmed that Massaquoi did not leave Freetown before she gave birth as he met with her every 2 to 3 days beforehand. She could not remember him leaving Freetown at the time. After giving birth, he came to see her often, every few days, when he wanted to see his child. This continued until 2003. When she did not see him for a few months, she did some research and found out from his family that he was cooperating with the UN. She estimated that their child was two years old when she found out that Massaquoi was working with the UN. She had found out that the former RUF leader had been charged with war crimes and Massaquoi had been named as a witness. She could not recall which family member told her this. She did not know the details of his work with the UN, or whether he travelled. After this, she never saw him again, she only heard that he had been taken to Finland.

The prosecution pointed out that Defense 13 had testified in the lower court that she knew that Gibril had travelled abroad with the people from the Special Court, and that she had heard this from Gibril’s brothers. The witness explained that the only travel she knew about was his going to Finland. The prosecution also pointed out that Defense 13 had testified in the lower court that she had met Gibril, when he came to see their child, after he started cooperating with the Special Court. She replied that maybe he came to see their child when she wasn’t there, but she was not aware of it. She had tried to go meet him herself, but she had been told that he had security and that she wouldn’t be allowed to see him. The witness testified that she does not know Defense 21.

Defense 13 testified that someone came to pick her up in Freetown on her way from Monrovia. She could not remember how she had travelled from Monrovia to Freetown, but somebody was there in Freetown to help her. She gave the nickname of the person who came to pick her up to the court. She testified that she got to Freetown on her own, and he met her in Freetown and helped her with her luggage and the child. She was travelling with her friend, they were three in total. The child was her friend’s child. She could not remember the name of the child. The witness knew that Gibril had a daughter in Monrovia, but this was not the child she travelled from Monrovia to Freetown with. She saw Gibril’s daughter later in Freetown. She speculated that one of Gibril’s friends had come to pick her up from Monrovia. She could not remember when this happened, but she was in Freetown at the time. Defense 13 did not know why Gibril did not pick his daughter up himself.

Further questions from the defense

Defense 13 had heard of the DDR meetings, it was a post-war program in Sierra Leone. She speculated that Gibril was involved as he was member of the RUF and all RUF members had to go through the process. She testified that he had participated in meetings to do with the program. The defense pointed out that Defense 13 had testified in the lower court that she had come to Freetown right before her child was born in April-May 2001 and the child was born in July. The witness responded that she could not remember when she had travelled to Freetown. She estimated that it was in early 2001.

Witness Defense 11 is heard

The defense questions Defense 11

The defense began by asking Defense 11 where he had met Gibril Massaquoi. The witness testified that he met him in 1999 in Lunsar, when he was working as a radio operator for Superman. They were both members of the RUF. Defense 11 provided his codename to the court. He testified that he spent 7 months in total in Lunsar. They retreated and returned after the AFRC fell. After Lunsar, Defense 11 went to Makeni, in early 2000. He came to Freetown that same year when Foday Sankoh was released, he called Defense 11 to be his radio operator. The witness worked on Spur Road, where Massaquoi was working as a personal assistant to Foday Sankoh. They saw each other almost every day. They worked on Spur Road until the attack in May. Defense 11, Gibril Massaquoi and others managed to escape from Spur Road and they spent the rest of the day on a hill to the East of the apartment. During the night, they began to move. It took them 11 days to reach Lunsar. At some point, they were surprised by the enemy and only some of them made it to their destination. The witness listed the 7 people in total who made it to Lunsar. They had left Foday Sankoh at the base of the hill. When the soldiers chasing them had retreated, they went back to look for him but could not find him. In Lunsar, they found out on the radio that Sankoh had been captured. He was never released.

The witness testified that Sankoh’s capture meant that the RUF no longer had a functioning chain of command. In Lunsar, Issa, Morris Kallon and others came to pick up Defense 11, Gibril Massaquoi, Superman and everyone else who had escaped from Freetown and took them to Makeni. They spent two days in Makeni before a general assembly was called at Issa’s apartment. It was announced that Issa would assume the role of leader. It was also decided that Gibril Massaquoi would remain a personal assistant. This was the only meeting that witness knew of regarding the RUF command structure. After Makeni, they went to Kono, where Issa gave instructions for Superman and a battalion of men to go to Liberia. There was an order to ensure that the route was maintained. LURD forces were fighting there and had cut off the route to Monrovia. The route went through Buedu to Foya. From Foya, the route led to Kolahun and Zorzor. The order was issued in August or September 2000.

Defense 11 testified that he has been to Liberia. He worked as a radio operator for Colonel Eagle. He went to Liberia in August or September 2000. As the route was not open, the troops were divided; some went to Kolahun, some went to Vahun and Defense 11 was on Foya. He stayed in Foya until May 2001 when disarmament began and he returned to Sierra Leone. He went to Kono to hand over his weapons. While he was in Liberia, the witness was always with Eagle while working on his shift. Another radio operator worked the other shift. He was always at the same location with Eagle, Eagle was his commander. Besides Eagle, Superman was also there, he had brought a battalion. They had no base, they were conducting operations around the Foya axis. There were three flanks, Kolahun, Foya and Vahun. The witness had met some of the Liberian commanders, such as Benjamin Yeaten, Zigzag Marzah at the border in Buedu. Zigzag Marzah was the commander the witness knew the best.

The witness testified that the fighting lasted until May 2001 when they retreated for disarmament. Colonel Eagle returned with him to Sierra Leone. Massaquoi’s role as a personal assistant was to make sure that the leader would be released. Liberia was decided as the location for peacemaking. Defense 11 saw him with Issa and others on the route to Monrovia travelling on a pickup. Liberia was the location for peacemaking because Charles Taylor had influence over the RUF and other African leaders. Massaquoi was also involved in tripartite meetings. The witness saw him passing by Foya on their way to Monrovia in 2001. Defense 11 was not aware of Massaquoi participating in fighting in Liberia. They returned after two days, he saw them again in Foya. He was not aware of Massaquoi being in Monrovia before this. He was not aware of any RUF soldiers staying in Liberia after they retreated to Sierra Leone.

After returning from Liberia, Defense 11 met Massaquoi in Freetown in 2002. They met at the party office of the RUFP on Boston Street: “He was enlightening people that we are now a party, we should enlighten people so we can win the election”. They also met in Thunder Hills, around June. Massaquoi was involved in the tripartite meetings. He travelled with the UN and the government to rebel-controlled areas as part of the DDR process. This process was ongoing before disarmament. The witness also met Massaquoi after the election at Kissi Road Junction.

According to Defense 11, Gibril Massaquoi’s code name was Gaffa. It was later changed to Wild Fire. His friends called him Gibou.

The prosecution questions Defense 11

The prosecution began by asking Defense 11 about the battalion Superman was taking to Liberia. There were about 240 men in an RUF battalion: 15 men per squad, 4 squads per battalion. They had three commanders, Superman, Eagle and Mandela. Superman and Eagle went to Liberia with the battalions. Superman was the senior commander of the three, he was the battalion commander. The troops were moved in two groups. The second group followed the first group not long after. Defense 11 was in the first group. There was not enough space for all the men in their vehicles.

The route they were to open was the link between the RUF and Monrovia. It was the way to their closest ally, the Liberian government, the NPFL, led by Charles Taylor. The RUF transported intelligence and supplies through this route. It was also used in the peace negotiations and in seeking the release of Foday Sankoh. The RUF also needed to the route to get basic supplies from Liberia, such as food. Defense 11 was not aware whether the RUF received arms and ammunition from Liberia. The prosecution pointed out that he had testified in the lower court that the RUF had a maintenance route to Monrovia to carry the most of the supplies, such as rice and ammunition, and that Taylor’s government was supplying the RUF with ammunition. The witness responded that Taylor supplied ammunition at the beginning of the war, in 1991-1992, not in 2000-2002. Taylor allowed hundreds of RUF fighters to enter Liberia so that the RUF could secure its interests in the area.

Defense 11 explained that the RUF and the Liberians had separate command structures and areas of operations. The Sierra Leoneans were in Vahun, Kolahun and Foya. Foya was the headquarters, while the Liberians were around Zorzor. The RUF and the Liberians did not go into each other’s areas of operations. The RUF was an active party in the fighting against LURD. They managed to secure the route until their retreat back to Sierra Leone. The route was used in the peace negotiations by Issa, Massaquoi and the others. They took the route to go to Monrovia to start the peace negotiations. The witness saw the team going back and forth between Monrovia and Sierra Leone once. The route was also used by the RUF to bring food from Liberia.

The other radio operator working for Eagle was H2. The witness testified that he never travelled to Monrovia and was not aware of Eagle travelling to Monrovia while he was in Foya. The RUF had another service route through Vahun, ULC, Lofa Bridge to Monrovia. This route was not used as the road could not handle the vehicles. Most of the bridges were built of logs and they were rotten.

The witness could not remember the exact month in 2001 when he had seen Massaquoi and his team pass Foya. They went to Monrovia to open negotiations about peace and returned a few days later. The next time he saw Massaquoi was in summer 2002, after disarmament. Defense 11 was not aware of his whereabouts between 2001 and summer 2002. They met in 2002 before the election, in April-May at the RUFP party office. The last time he saw him was in late 2002, at Kissi Road junction. The witness was not aware of any RUF fighting in Liberia after that.

Further questions from the defense

Defense 11 testified that Massaquoi participated in the peace negotiations in Sierra Leone before the tripartite meetings, he was telling RUF fighters to disarm. He also announced the disarmament efforts on the field radio that the witness was operating. His disarmament efforts began in Lunsar and Kambia. Massaquoi was involved in the Abuja I and Abuja II agreement. Defense 11 travelled with Foday Sankoh to Abuja, where Sankoh was arrested. Gibril Massaquoi was involved in the efforts to have Sankoh released.

Further questions from the prosecution

Defense 11 testified that he had seen Benjamin Yeaten in Buedu. The RUF received supplies from him in 1993, 1995, before they joined the AFRC in 1997. He was not aware of the RUF receiving any supplies from him after 2000. The prosecution pointed out that the witness had testified in the lower court that the RUF acted independently in Lofa, but received arms and ammunition from Benjamin Yeaten. The witness testified that he did not remember saying so, but if the RUF did receive arms and ammunition, it must have been during an emergency.