By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The State Counsel at the Commissions of Inquiry have started a case regarding alleged ‘physical abuse’ of children by the former Minister of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, Dr Sylvia Blyden. The case is an ‘incomplete’ police investigation since 2017.
Reading the summary of the case against Ms Blyden, State Counsel, Robert Kowa said Blyden should answer to a case against her regarding accusations that she hired thugs to beat members of the Children’s Forum Network.
Kowa said issues raised from police investigation suggested that the Ministry was opposed to a planned meeting by the Children Forum Network (CFN) in 2016, and that an attempt to hold the meeting at the Ministry’s premises was met with violence. Citing the Police Progress Report, Kowa said four of the kids were wounded during the incident and Blyden did not cooperate with the police to conclude their investigation.
Some of the children who are part of CFN at the time were present at the commission. They have been attending since the start of this inquiry on Monday.
Ibrahim Khalil Sesay who is a Police officer attached to the Major Incident Response Team at the Family Support Unit was presented at the Bankole Thompson commission as witness. In his testimony, he said Blyden was released back then by the Police on an agreement that she would cooperate with the Police but that never happened.
“In the course of the investigation, statements were obtained from the victims and witnesses. Other documents were obtained in respect of the investigation. The police did write a progress report summarizing all the statements and actions taken and at the conclusion of the documents a recommendation was made by the Police for the release of the [former] Minister by then for her own side of the story. Up till now, no reply was given to the Police,” Sesay said.
In the course of his testimony, Sesay said they collected 17 witness statements and 4 medical reports of injuries.
“I have 17 statements, 4 medical report, a document from the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority with an attachment of the vehicle owner of the said registration number, SEA 001, a copy of a press release issued by the ministry of social welfare. I also have a letter from the officer commanding New England Ville Police Station to the LUC Central Police Station, print out of the Facebook page of Dr Sylvia Blyden and Police Progress report,” Sesay explained, whiles tendering the document at the tribunal.
One of the 17 witnesses who were named is former Deputy Minister who served with Blyden in the same Ministry, Nenneh Turay. Blyden and Turay had a bitter relationship which eventually imploded on the media. The spat led to their dismissal few days later.
Turay herself was present at the commission alongside her lawyer, Ibrahim Kanu. Turay and Blyden are Persons of Interests regarding issues surrounding the Social Welfare Ministry. However, currently it is not clear what Turay will be answering to. But a showdown between her and Blyden cannot be ruled out since she is one of those who made statements to the Police regarding the incident with the CFN.
In a dramatic twist at the Thompson Commission, Blyden dismissed his lawyer following the start of Sesay’s testimony. She said she will represent herself henceforth.
Her former lawyer, Melron Nicol Wilson told the judge after a short stand down: “Before we continue my Lord, I will like to inform you about a recent development. My client has indicated to me that she will like to represent herself henceforth including undertaking cross examination of all witnesses. So, I am effectively no longer representing Dr Sylvia Blyden.”
Justice Thompson later granted the request.
During her cross examination, Blyden was adamant that Sesay who was leading the investigation did not take statement from any of her security guards, who themselves were police officers. She said this raised questions about the ‘thoroughness’ of Sesay’s investigation.
Blyden said: “If you are aware that a cabinet minister has a bodyguard then you will know that the police officer assigned to the minister will be an eyewitness. Despite all this thoroughness, you never thought it fit to interview the police officer who was my bodyguard.”
She added: “My Lord, the reason why I am insisting on this is that further down the line you might actually know what happened in this case.”
This case drew a lot of attention on Wednesday when the accused decided to represent himself. This is the first time a Person of Interest had opted to represent herself voluntarily.
State Counsels say they have up to 17 witnesses that they will put on the stand in the course of the investigations against Blyden.
© 2019 Politico Online
