By Francis H. Murray
Dr. Abdulai Conteh, the lead defense lawyer for former defence Minister Alfred Paolo Conteh, who is the first accused in the on-going treason trial, has told the High Court in Freetown that his client had “no burden of proof to the court because the prosecution has failed to adduce any evidence in support of their indictment.”
Dr. Conteh told the jury that as “good men of the world you would be judging based on facts after the accused and a witness would have testified whilst the judge would guide and direct you on what the law is.”
He said at the center of the prosecution’s case is the allegation that the accused took a Gluck 17 pistol to State House and that amounted to treason but, he said, to be found at State House with a gun was no treason but that it was up to the judge to decide. He said ‘‘the whole of the prosecution’s case hangs on a gun found on the accused at State House, but what they’ve not established is that he took such a gun with the intention of committing treason.’’ He referred to one of the prosecution’s witnesses who, according to him, confirmed that the accused admitted to owing the pistol as his personal property.
The defence lawyer noted that during the course of the prosecution’s case, a witness confirmed the existence of a CCTV camera at the reception desk of State House and that an application was made by the defense for the prosecution to make available the recorded footage to show ‘‘beyond any sense of speculation’’ what transpired between the accused and the security personnel at the reception desk of State House on the 19th of March 2020, stressing that the prosecution had “failed to tender such a material evidence even at the consent of the judge.”
When Dr. Conteh suggested that the prosecution had also failed to facilitate a visit to State House being the alleged scene of crime, presiding judge Momoh Jah Stevens assured the defense and the jury that the visit would only happen “in camera” after the close of the defense’s case.
Dr. Conteh concluded: ‘‘the accused went to State House on the invitation of the President to answer to a national call and to strategize the fight against the Covid 19 pandemic for which he now stands accused of treason for which there was no iota of evidence before the court.’’ He said the first accused “went to State House with no malicious intention but in response to a call to national duty.”
In his evidence from the witness box, the first accused said he needed a personal weapon not only because his personal bodyguards were all withdrawn after the 2018 elections, but that in his capacity as former minister of defense and internal affairs, he waged war on indiscipline and lawlessness for which he received personal as well as social media threats.
He continued that he had cause to first go to State House on Monday 16th March 2020 when he was invited by the President through the Minister of Finance, Jacob Jusu Saffa, for a meeting scheduled for 3:00pm to map out strategies to fight the corona virus pandemic. He said he went to the meeting with his brown bag containing his personal pistol which he chose to leave at the back seat of his car, as the place was quiet and that his vehicle had tinted glasses. He said he headed straight to the venue of the meeting where other invitees were also seated.
The first accused said the President addressed them on the purpose of the meeting and charged them with the responsibility of designing a strategy and policy for COVID-19 preparedness within 48 hours, adding that he assured the president of his willingness to join the fight against Covid-19 without any remuneration.
The first accused said the second visit took place on the 19th of March when he received a call from Major General David Taluva, informing him that they were to meet with the President by 9:00am for the official presentation of the policy and strategy documents. He said he arrived at the State House around 8:30am and was ushered in by security personnel and that while looking for a space to park his car, “about four or five car wash boys rushed at me offering to clean my car and I agreed.”
He said he never felt comfortable leaving his brown bag containing his pistol in his vehicle which, according to him, was the reason he decided to take the bag with him. ‘‘I got to the reception area at State House on the first floor. I did not put my bag on the scanner; I walked by the side of the metal detector heading straight for the security desk. No one accosted me or challenged me or said a word to me. I got to the security desk in the reception area where there was seated a man and a woman. I held my brown bag a little up and asked one of them to keep the bag for me but the other one replied saying ‘sir, please take it upstairs.’ “I said no. This bag contains my personal weapon. It was taken off me by one of them and I was allowed to go upstairs with no alarm raised at that time by any of the security personnel present.’’
The first accused added that he proceeded to the second floor and was directed to the office of the State Chief of Protocol to wait for the President. Other invitees like Major General Taluva, Steven Gaoja, and Sidi Yayah Tunis were also there.
He said about an hour later, Lieutenant Colonel Kposowa walked into the room with his (the accused) brown bag in the company of one female and three or four males including Superintendent M. K Allieu who had been investigating him since 2018 on allegations of planning a coup and being in possession of weapons.
He said when questioned by Colonel Kposowa whether he owned the brown bag which had a Gluck 17 pistol with ten live rounds in it, he admitted and dipped his hand into the side pocket of the bag and removed a license and showed it to them, saying that the pistol had a valid license and that he had tendered and left it with the personnel at the reception desk.
The accused said he was then informed that he wouldn’t be joining the meeting with the president and that he was to make a statement, which according to him was the start of a series of investigations into an alleged unlawful possession of a fire arm with search warrants executed at his premises and nothing found of police interest, adding that the treason allegation only came in on the 26th and 29th of March.
When the allegation that he was preparing to carry out by force an enterprise to assassinate President Bio was put to him, the first accused replied saying; ‘‘I have no grudge against my president, no animosity and I had no intention to overthrow the government otherwise I would have been wearing a suicide vest with no possibility of coming out alive.’’ He denied all treason allegations against him. He admitted to holdings the Gluck 21 pistol for two weeks after its registration had expired but that the renewal process was in progress at this time.
He concluded that when he went to the Small Arms Commission to register the Gluck 17 pistol on the 26th February 2020, he was asked to surrender the Gluck 21, which he did, followed by the issuance of the license for the Gluck 17 pistol with an expiry date of 3rd March 2021.
After the defense concluded their examination-in-chief of the first accused, the prosecution requested for an adjournment on the grounds of limited time for cross examination.
The trial continues on the 23rd June, 2020.
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