By Saio Marrah
State prosecutors have cross-examined the 2nd accused in the ongoing court martial Sergeant Ibrahim Bundu Kamara who elected to defend himself from the witness box.
He told the court he was never part of the coup plotters. He said the assailants captured him. The accused was responding to a statement by state prosecutor Joseph A.K. Sesay who accused him of voluntarily going to the scene where weapons were being looted from the armoury at Wilberforce Barracks.
The prosecutor said 2nd accused Bundu failed to do something about the wrongful act the enemies were doing because he was part of them. In his response, the accused told the court martial that it was not too long between the time he escaped and the time the (military personnel) were told to assemble at their headquarters. He went further to say that he attempted to call his boss, but the call did not go through and that his phone eventually went off suddenly.
The accused admitted that it was the responsibility of a soldier to disclose activities of enemies to commanders and that a soldier has the obligation to stop enemies from carrying out their atrocity.
The accused also told the court that what the assailants were doing at the armoury on November 26, 2023 was wrong. He also admitted that since he went into hiding at the back of Services school, it didn’t take long before weapons were given to military personnel.
He said he was not aware that military personnel were killed as he had been arrested by presidential guards and that before that his commanders had instructed him to assist in issuing weapons to personnel.
Sergeant Ibrahim Bundu alias Amerikin had told the court martial on Monday July 3, 2024 that while he was in the custody of the presidential guard he was stripped naked, his hands tied to a window before being tortured. He said a Lieutenant Colonel came around and stopped the guards from continuously torturing him. According to the 2nd accused he was forced to drink about 1.5 liters of urine in a bottle and that while under gun point, he told the guards “whatever came from my head.”
Amerikin said when the guards searched his pockets they found Le 1,550 and many documents including national and military ID cards and he was subsequently taken to the CID headquarters where he handed his phone over to an officer and revealed his password. He said on the following day, a statement was obtained from him.
According to him, a voluntary caution statement was obtained from him twice, but that in the second statement, the investigators omitted some details and added materials he knew nothing about. He said he didn’t sign the second statement because there was no mention of his torture in the custody of the presidential guards.
Led in by his lawyer Ibrahim Abdulai Kamara on Wednesday July 3, 2024 the accused said at about 3a.m. on the day of the alleged coup he was asleep in his quarter at Wilberforce Barracks when he had cause to wake to answer a phone call from Warrant Officer class (2) Turay, who told him to report to the 5 battalion headquarters because they needed to be on standby.
He said on his way there, some assailants arrested and dragged him towards the armoury. The accused said the assailants were all mask up but he was able to identify someone resembling Amadu Koita Makalo. At the armoury, he said he saw corporal Turay alais Korpor, who is the 7th accused under gun point in the veranda of the guardroom close to the armoury and he was also forced to the floor.
Amerikin said in that position, he saw three Captains - Senesie, T.L.K and Jalloh. He said the assailants he placed their weapons in front of the guardroom and they instructed him to load up the magazines.
According to him the assailants also brought in another soldier known as Ranger under gunpoint and subsequently arrested more soldiers attached to the 5 battalion. At that point, he said, Captain TLK was talking on a phone that was put on speaker to someone who asked whether Captain TLK had started. He said Captain TLK told Captain Jalloh that he was talking to one Colonel R.S. Bockarie.
Amerikin said he managed to escape and hid himself at the back of Services Primary School, about 100 meters from the armoury and remained there until about 6:55 a.m. when he heard fire alarm and realized that presidential guards had already arrived at the barracks.
He said he would later join his boss Major Sesay at 5 battalion headquarters where a CID officer arrested him.
The case resumes today, July 8th 2024.
Copyright © 2024 Politico Online (08/07/24)
