By Saio Marrah
Sergeant Mohamed Kamara has said at the ongoing court martial that he was never part of the November 26, 2023 assailants. Testifying in his own defence on Wednesday July 24, 2024 Sergeant Kamara said he was sleeping in his quarter at Wilberforce Barracks when he heard a blast at about 3:00 am and then heard a strange voice saying the enemies were about to surround the barracks.
Led in his testimony by a Legal Aid Board lawyer, Ibrahim Bangura, the seventh accused said he then left his home, heading to the 5 battalion headquarters to find out what was going on and also to defend against the enemies. He said on his way, the assailant arrested him close to the armoury and forced him to help load the magazines and he found the second accused on the floor loading magazines.
The accused said the assailants then ordered him to go together with another armed assailant towards the main street and watch out for them.
He told the court that in the course of doing that he managed to convince the armed assailant with him to allow him to go and bring in reinforcements. He said when he was given that opportunity, he escaped and returned home.
During cross-examination by Joseph A. K. Sesay, the accused, told the court that he was enlisted into the RSLAF in 1992 and that he fought in the country’s civil war.
Asked whether, from his experience, it was the right thing to walk towards an enemy who is well-armed, when one is unarmed, the accused replied that, “as a soldier, you should not sit and wait for your enemy to meet you at your house. So you have to go to the military base to get weapons. “
The accused told the court that was not expecting enemies at the place and that when he was arrested, he found Warrant Officer Class two (WO 2) Turay at the armoury, leaning against the wall with his hands folded across his chest.
The accused told the court that he realized from conversation among the assailants that they needed more personnel for reinforcement. He said, “Had I been part of them or agreed to join them, I would have escaped. I would not have allowed the government to capture me.”
The seventh accused said abandoning the place in the hands of the enemies at the time was the right thing, because according to him, he had no option.
The accused said after his escape he attempted to call Colonel Kposowa to report the incident but it was unsuccessful. He said he then called one of his junior soldiers, who informed him that Colonel Kposowa was busy preparing his personnel to confront the assailants. He admitted that he did not send the Colonel an SMS message.
Meanwhile the 20th accused, Sergeant Aiah Kemoh has denied that he authored and sent a WhatsApp voice note from his phone to Amadu Koita Makalo – the leader of the coup attempt who has been convicted and jailed.
The accused was being cross-examined by the lead State Prosecutor, Joseph A.K. Sesay in Freetown on Thursday July 25th 2024, as he spoke in his own defence.
The WhatsApp voice note played in court indicated the sender saying, “Supremo, I have attempted thrice to come out, but the men are persistently firing. I have a rifle, but I have to wait until daybreak for me to mobilize other men.”
The accused further denied being part of people shown in a photo together with Koita Makalo but identified Koita Makalo in the photo as being part of other five men in a photo taken in a bushy environment. He also denied a suggestion that the “medical excuse” he obtained from his unit of deployment was in order to join up with Koita Makalo.
The 24th accused, Sergeant Rashid Koroma who also testified in his defence on Wednesday July 24th, 2024, also denied his involvement in the coup plot.
According to him, after obtaining a welfare pass, he went to Aberdeen Beach to enjoy himself and that they were playing music in the early hours of 26th November 2023, when a woman informed them that there was gun fire around Cockerill and Wilberforce axis.
He said they immediately halted the amusement and he contacted his unit at Benguema, but phones were switched off. Sergeant Koroma said he then boarded a commercial vehicle to return to his unit and that when they arrived at Murray Town junction; another commercial driver informed their own driver that there was an exchange of gunfire in town. He said their driver decided to drop all passengers and refused to continue. The accused said he decided to go to Ordinance at Murray Town, the nearest military base.
According to him, he found his old school mate, Mohamed Wudie - former military personnel at “Cane Stick” close to the Ordinance and they talked for a while and that Wudie introduced him to his (Wudie’s) girlfriend.
He said during their conversation, three military personnel and one civilian approached them and that one of the soldiers informed him (accused) that the civilian alerted them (soldiers) at Ordinance Compound that he saw a strange civilian in the community. He said they went into the Ordinance compound, where they met a Warrant Officer (WO 2) class two, who recognized him as a soldier.
According to the accused, he eventually returned to the home of Wudie and his girlfriend where Wudie was arrested by a group of military personnel. He said he followed them into the Ordinance compound and found the soldiers beating Wudie and that he was also arrested and taken to Cockerill Military barracks along with Wudie.
During cross-examination by Joseph A.K. Sesay, the accused said a Major at Cockerill Barracks collected his pass together with his cell phone and never returned them and that the passbook at his unit in Benguema will prove that.
Responding to a question on why he did not use his friend’s phone to contact his bosses at his unit, the accused said he did not have their numbers in hand.
According to him, he decided to travel with two military uniforms because he intended to return to Benguema on the following Sunday and that he needed to change his uniforms. He denied the suggestion that the other uniform was for Wudie arguing that Wudie did not have the same size as him
Commenting earlier on how he obtained the pass, the accused said after completing a sergeant’s platoon course at Benguema, they (participants) were all given seven days pass, which was issued on Saturday November 25th, 2023.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (29/07/24)
