Direct and Cross-Examination of Prosecution Witness TF1-073, Tamba Mondeh

On Monday morning, Prosecution Counsel Alain Werner called Prosecution witness TF1-073, Tamba Mondeh, who testified in Kono.   Mondeh is a crime-based witness who testified during direct examination of attacks by rebels after President Kabbah was ousted by the AFRC.   After this, Mondeh stayed in Montema in a house owned by Samuel Bull, with his family and a number of other civilians.   Mondeh testified that rebels came to the house and shot him in the chin and throat. The rebels also shot and killed a man named Aiah and his young daughter, in addition to breaking people’s legs and arms.   Mondeh’s wife’s foot was also broken, and his child was shot in the shoulder.

During cross-examination Lead Defense Counsel Courtenay Griffiths questioned the witness about his knowledge of the Bull family, who had previously testified before this Court.   The witness confirmed that the Bull family ran a mining company, though the witness himself was not involved in mining so could not testify about whether ECOMOG soldiers were also involved in mining (though he had heard rumors to this effect).   Defense counsel questioned Mondeh about whether he or any member of the Bull family were Kamajors, which Mondeh denied.   He maintained that he had not seen any Kamajors in Motema, but that they were present in the hospital in which he received medical treatment for his gunshot wound.   Mondeh further testified that Foday Sankoh was the commander of the rebels, but that the rebel leader of the attack on the Bull house was Fixo Bio.   He could not confirm whether Fixo was also the rebel leader Victor Bio.

Direct and Cross-Examination of Prosecution Witness TF1-060, Abdul Otonjo Conteh

Prosecution Counsel Nicholas Koumjian then called the 47th prosecution witness TF1-060, Abdul Otonjo Conteh, who had previously testified during the RUF trial with protective measures, but testified in the Taylor Trial in open session.   Conteh is from the mining area of Tongo Fields, and was a teacher as well as a diamond miner from 1996-1997. He testified about the practice of diamond mining in Tongo Fields after the 1997 coup.  

In the witness’s area, the Sandeyeima Swamp and his village Lalehun, the Kamajors and the SSD were in control until August 11, 1997.   On August 11, 1997 there was heavy fighting between the SSD and the rebels.   On August 16, 1997 Conteh heard from his nephew Morison Farma and a man called Ibrahim that Sam Bockarie had had two meetings with civilians. Mosquito had allegedly said that if the civilians did not come back to their towns and cooperate with the AFRC government, all the natives in Lower Bambara Chiefdom would be ‘in trouble.’

A committee was formed to work with the AFRC, the Lower Bambara Caretaker Committee, consisting of 13 people.   The witness was appointed as Secretary of this Committee. Conteh had to report to the Paramount Chief every week or two. The witness recalled several reports of the Committee, including reports of the RUF killing civilians – both children and adults – and the AFRC harassing civilians who returned from the bush, particularly raping women.

Conteh then testified about mining under the control of the AFRC. He indicated that RUF rebels would go to villages and raid civilians who were forced to mine. Conteh also mentioned several Committee reports that related child soldiers opening fire on civilians who attempted to mine for themselves. When asked if Conteh ever heard the name Charles Taylor mentioned, the witness testified that an RUF commander named Captain Eagle had told him that the RUF were not only supported by Foday Sankoh, but also by Charles Taylor. The diamonds were sent to Charles Taylor in Liberia and Taylor supplied the ammunition for the RUF in Sierra Leone.

During cross-examination, Defense Counsel Morris Anyah questioned Conteh about the Committee Reports that the witness had apparently kept since 1997.   Conteh had only mentioned this document to the Prosecution last week. Anyah then questioned Conteh about his testimony during direct examination concerning the conversation Conteh had with Captain Eagle about the involvement of Charles Taylor in supporting the RUF. Conteh agreed that he had not mentioned this to the Prosecution previously, nor during the RUF trial.

Direct and Cross-Examination of Protected Prosecution Witness TF1-064

Prosecution counsel Christopher Santora then called its 48th Witness, TF1-064, a protected crime-base witness testifying under a pseudonym and with screen and image distortion.   Much of this witness’s testimony and cross-examination was held in private session.   The witness is a married woman about thirty years old, and lived during the civil war in Foendor, Kamara Chiefdom in Kono District, Sierra Leone.   The witness was pregnant when the rebels began attacking and she fled to the bush with her family.

The first time the witness encountered the rebels, she and others were abducted.   She was released by the rebels because she was pregnant.   Shortly after this first capture, she gave birth to a girl in her aunt’s house.   Shortly thereafter, she was captured by rebels a second time, one of whom wanted her to become his wife.   However, she was released because she was still breast-feeding her child.   She then returned to her mother in the bush outside of Foendor.

She was captured for a third time by a group of rebels, one of whom was Tamba Joe.   The rebels said they were ECOMOG but spoke Krio.   The rebels grabbed her three-year old son and threw him in the bush.   She was later reunited with her son, but she never saw her sister-in-law again.   A captured Temne man was ordered to rape the witness.   After being beaten for refusing to, the Temne man eventually raped the witness.   The rebels then took the witness and the other captured civilians to Foender.   Tamba Joe told them to leave their children outside while they entered a house.   While inside, the rebels started killing the children.   At this point, the witness became emotional and the judges permitted a brief break.   Most of the remaining direct and cross-examination was held in closed session.

Direct and Cross-Examination of Prosecution Witness TF1-233, Osman Jalloh

Prosecution counsel Catherine Howard then called witness TF1-233, Osman Jalloh, a.k.a. Ojah Oju, from the Temne tribe. During testimony, the Prosecution requested and the Court granted an application for a court worker in the Witness and Victims Services to sit with and assist the witness when he was not feeling well.

In January 1999 the witness was in Kalaba Town, a part of Freetown, when the rebels entered the city.  He hid for six days in a tin shack with his family.   A rebel locked them in the shack and lit it on fire, though they were released after five minutes and asked for money.   Their neighbor offered the rebels 86 bags of rice, which the rebels took. The next day a rebel with a strange accent took them to a house in Sayinoh junction between Wellington and Kalaba Town. During fighting with ECOMOG soldiers at that house, the rebels told another civilian with Jalloh – Osheck – to place his hand on a mortar, and when he refused they chopped him on the head about two times. They then amputated both his hands; he died three days later.   The rebels then cut off Jalloh’s right hand, and then his left hand, though it was not amputated entirely. The rebel gave Jalloh a message to bring to Kabbah and ECOMOG: if they were to come there, their hands would also be chopped off. Jalloh testified that all persons in his group had both hands cut off, except the youngest children.

Defense Counsel Morris Anyah began his cross-examination by explaining to the witness that the Defense did not dispute the things that had happened to the witness and others in January 1999.   The witness then said that he concluded that the rebels with ‘strange accents’ were Liberian because of their ‘strange faces’ and their manner of speaking.   Anyah asked Jalloh if he reached the conclusion that the rebels he saw were from Liberia because he had heard Charles Taylor speak over the radio that Sierra Leone would taste the bitterness of war, which the witness confirmed. The witness also confirmed that he had first mentioned to the Prosecution last week that he had heard Charles Taylor on the radio.

Direct and Cross-Examination of 50^th Prosecution Witness TF1-279, Patrick Sheriff

Prosecutor Alain Werner next called witness TF1-279, Patrick Sheriff, from Yekessa, Bumpe Chiefdom in the southern province of Sierra Leone. Sheriff testified that in December 1998 he was in Lumpa, Waterloo rural district when he heard gunshots and fled into the bush with his friend, Joseph Kotay. About five days later, Sheriff and Kotay returned to Lumpa and saw that 150 houses had been burned.

Sheriff testified that he and Kotay were then caught by a rebel speaking Liberian English, who took them to a group of other rebels in Lumpa. The commander of this rebel group ordered them to be lashed with a cane and then Sheriff was hit with a gun. Sheriff and Kotay were then told to carry a wounded soldier to a nearby house which was used to treat wounded rebels. After arriving at the house, Sheriff and Kotay were able to escape to Mabureh Bush.

In Mabureh Bush, a man named Samuel Conteh brought the witness’s brother, Gibril Sheriff, from Yekessa. Next, rebels came with guns and one mentioned that Gibril Sheriff looked like the former President of Liberia, Samuel Doe. The rebel leader (who had a Liberian accent and said they were from Gbarnga, Liberia) indicated that their boss, Peleto, had sent them to bring back 10 human fingers. Gibril Sheriff’s fingers were then cut off, after which the rebels shot Gibril Sheriff.  

On December 30, 1998, a rebel found the witness, Joseph Kotay and Samuel Conteh hiding in the bush. They were taken to Mabureh Town where they were forced to mash palm fruit in order to process palm oil. They did this for one day, then an Alpha Jet from ECOMOG flew over and the witness was able to escape to Malambay, Koya District.

When the Prosecution asked how these events have affected the witness’s life, Patrick Sheriff indicated that his health has deteriorated due to the beatings he received; his only brother was killed by rebels and he has adopted his brother’s three children; and his house was burnt down.

Defense counsel Terry Munyard began his cross-examination by reaffirming that the Defense does not dispute the terrible things that happened to Sheriff and his family.   However, Munyard suggested that Sheriff’s memory may be somewhat confused because of the awful nature of the events and the extent of time which has elapsed. Sheriff responded by asserting that all the events he has disclosed are the truth, except for perhaps some details concerning distances.

Munyard then went through various inconsistencies between the witness’s statements to the Prosecutor and his testimony before the Special Court in order to undermine the credibility of the witness. In particular, Munyard pointed to inconsistencies regarding Sheriff’s testimony that many of the rebels met were of Liberian origin.   Munyard also suggested to the witness that, due to the passing of time, the witness may have mixed up the sequence of particular events, although Sheriff continued to maintain that his evidence given in Court was accurate.

The trial of Charles Taylor will continue on Monday morning, 6 October 2008, when the Prosecution will call its next witness.