By Feima Sesay The 23rd prosecution witnesses Sergeant Mani Atonkoa Saffea has on Monday 8th April 2024 testified before Justice Komba Kamanda – presiding judge over the treason trial that he was told by the assilants that their plans were not to kill but to get rid of the rotten system. The witness led in evidence by state counsel A. Jalloh said he is attached to the Transport squadrum Joint Logistic Unit (JLU) Murray Town as driver and has been a driver since 1999. The witness recognized the 1st accused person, Amadu Koita Makolo, 6th accused Hassan Leigh , 9th accused ASP Ibrahim Sesay and the 12th accused Abdul Sorie Hassan Kamara. He recalled 26th November 2023, adding that on that day he was at home and whiles at home he heard gunshots sound from afar towards Wilberforce in the early hours of Sunday. Upon hearing the gunshots sound, the witness said himself together with one Sergeant Koroma came outside and made a call and were later told that Wilberforce was under attack. The witness said he immediately onboarded a kekeh to his office and whiles at Lumley around the roundabout, he felt a tap on his back, and the person told him that they were calling him inside one Jeep. “I went there to see who was calling me and I saw one Sergeant inside the vehicle together with Leutinunant Colonel Johnson who instructed me to go with them but I replied that I didn’t know where they were going but he said they were heading for Cockrill whiles I was heading for Murray town. He also told me that he would drop me at Cockrill for me to onboard another vehicle to my office,” the witness narrated. He said he onboarded the vehicle and they left for Cockrill, adding that on their arrival they met one corpse lying at the entrance gate of Cockrill. Whiles at the Cockrill gate, the witness said they saw some of the assilants wearing combat trousers and were all masked, and they halted Colonel Johnson to stop the vehicle which he did, noting that the sergeant Marker who was with Colonel Johnson was carrying weapon and the assilants, he said, forcefully removed the weapon from sergeant Marker whiles colonel Johnson rushed with the vehicle inside Cockrill gate whiles the assilants he said were still following them. Colonel Johnson, he said, opened the vehicle and ran away and they chased after him but said he could not tell what happen to him, adding that himself together with Sergeant Marker came down the vehicle and ran away, noting that whiles they were running, the assilants started firing at them and they dashed on the ground for their safety but said they were inventually captured by the assilants and they asked him who he was and he told them that he was a pastor, adding that one of the assilants who knew him told the others not to kill them because he is a good driver and would drive the other vehicle for them. “They asked me to join them saying that they did not come to kille anyone but to remove the rotten system and they took us away and on our way, we met two military police vehicles which they instructed me to drive one of them, but I discovered that the front tire of the passenger seat was deflated,” the witness told the court. The witness Pastor Saffia in further evidence said on the other vehicle, he saw Leutinunant Colonel Sandi talking to an unknown person saying that he did not have keys to the arms and ammunition store. He said it was at that moment that he came to know that colonel Sandi was talking to Koita when he mentioned the name Koita, adding that another person came saying that they should go to ordinance at Murray Town where the arms and ammunition head quarters is in an attempt to get more Weapons and later at transport squadrum to get vehicles. An unknown person dressed in mask, he said, came closer to him and placed his weapon nuzzles on the ground wanting to fire his feet, but he said he immediately removed his feet from where it was placed and the assilants fired the shot. Koita, he said, got angry at the man for firing the shot saying that he had instructed them not to fire again, noting that where the gun was fired if the court moved to that position the impact is still there. The witness said they left for Murray Town and whiles they were about to go, one of the assilants told him not to go with them inorder to take care of the corpse, according him, he saw three corpses all dressed in military combat lying on the ground; one at the gate, two at the fence and the other was told by the assilants to collect at AFTC. When they eventually left according to the witness, he ran towards the Air wings where he met Sergeant Marker and other personnel who were in hiding. He said he later received a call from one Sergeant Clay as to his whereabout whom he gave the information about the assilants plans to attack Murray town barracks. “I believed that God used me that day to save this nation”, witness told the court in tears. The reason why he relayed that message, according to him, was that after God Almighty, it is the ordinance that holds the people of Sierra Leone. The defense Counsel Lawyer MP Sesay requested an adjournment pursuant to section 186 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1965, stating that in view of the judge order allowing the witness to testify, and the fact narrated requires the defense to confront him with the fact. He said they have been having difficulty to access the first accused at Pademba Road Prison, noting that they wrote a letter dated 5th April 2024 asking the D G of Correctional Facility

By Feima Sesay Staff Sergeant Mustapha Turay, a prosecution witness in the ongoing Courtmartial trial, has on Tuesday 2nd April 2024 disclosed before the judge advocate Mark Ngegba and members of the board that ‘,Leather Boot’ was found at the 12th accused Corporal Alie Kamara alias (charm am raw) residence at Murray Town barracks. Led in evidence by Principal State Counsel Yusuf Sulaiman Koroma, the witness Staff Sergeant Mustapha Turay said he is now attached at the Lungi Garrison Barracks but during the time of the alleged incident of the failed coup, he was attached at the Joint Logistics Unit at Murray town as a Plato Sergeant. He furthered that he was in charge of the arm store.He recognized the 4th accused Staff Sergeant Abu Dauda, 6th accused Edward Koroma, 12th accused Coporal Alie Kamara and the 24th accused Rashid Koroma. He furthered that he was deployed at the JLU between 22- 26 November 2023.Staff Turay said on 25 November 2023, at around 10-11 PM, he left the facility where he was deployed to buy energy drink at a restaurant adjecent Murray town barracks. He said upon arrival at the restaurant, he met his colleagues Sergeant Janneh who is now on the run and Abubakar Turay the twenty three accused, adding that they were together when Sergeant Janneh and him bought food and they all ate together. The witness furthered that he was with them for 20 minutes and he left them and returned to his duty post. He added that upon his return at his post around 1am, he woke up to gun shots coming from Wilberforce end, adding that he alerted the rest of the soldiers and they reinforced and fortified the guard posts. He said during the time shooting went on all night at Wilberforce and at around 6:30am in the morning, he was still hearing gun shots at Cockril and also a heavy gun shots at Murray town area with large blast of RPG. The witness furthered that the patrol commander at Murray town Leutinant Coniel Charles ordered him to distribute ammunitions to his colleagues, adding that they all signed for the weapons giving to them. He said few minutes later they got an information that the 6th accused Edward Koroma should be brought for questioning. He said the information stated that accused Koroma has information in his iPad about what happened in Freetown.He said the patrol commander Charles instructed him and other military personnel to bring the 6th accused to him which they did. He added that they were ordered by commander Charles to disarm him which they did including his iPad, adding that the partrol commander browsed through the iPad in his presence and other military personnel and they saw series of sacrifices performance done by the 6th accused and the other assilants. He said the accused was taken for questioning at the office of the commander, adding that in their presence the 6th accused admitted that he was part of the assilants and he was ready to call colleagues who were also part of the coup. Witness Turay in his testimony said the accused in their presence called the 4th accused Abu Dauda through his phone as one of the assilants and he picked his phone and asked him where he was and Abu Dauda responded that he was at Cockrill and the called ended. The witness furthered that they were on the interrogation with accused Koroma when they heard another heavy gunshots at the Murray town area followed by heavy shooting. He said soldiers were running everywhere and later some military officers informed him that they were doing room searching at the barracks and during the search they found leatherboot in the room of the twelveth accused Alie Kamara alias “Cham am Raw” and also another unidentified person who is still on the run. He said after they had captured them, the shooting cool down and they went and stood under a ‘Cain Stick’ close to JLU room. The witness furthered that they saw one woman from a ‘pan body structure’ spying on them and they became suspicious and they decided to enter her house to search. He said during the search they saw the 24th accused Sergeant Rashid Koroma twenty one retired Coporal Woodie and they brought them outside and ordered them to lie down on the floor. He said they took them to the commander and later a vehicle came along and carried accused Koroma, Woodie and Rashid Koroma including Leather Boot to Cockril headquarters. He furthered that he made statement to the military police officers twice. The matter was adjourned to today 3rd April 2024 for further hearing while the accused persons were remanded in prison.