By Saio Marrah
Saidu Nallo, the First accused in the ongoing New York Chancery Building trial, has testified at the High Court in Freetown that only half of the first two million US dollars donated for the renovation of the Sierra Leone UN Mission Building in New York was remitted to the mission with the balance kept in Freetown.
Led in by his lawyer, Pa Momoh Fofana, on Wednesday 19 July 2023, Nallo said when he was posted to New York as Head of the Chancery in 2017; he saw a document stating that one million US dollars was remitted to the mission in 2016. He said the money was remitted by the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of foreign affairs after the latter had “seriously pressured” the former for the disbursement of the fund.
Nallo told the packed courtroom that the mission had not made any further payment to the contractor since September 2017, noting that they had actually utilized the first one million US dollars. He said the contractor was in serious trouble with the New York City administrators and the neighbors due to the hazardous condition of the building.
According to him, the first two million dollars was donated to the Government of Sierra Leone by a development partner between 2011 and 2012, and in 2019, the same development partner donated another two million US dollars.
Nallo told the court that the second two million dollars was given to Sierra Leone after the then Ambassador to the UN, Dr. Francis Kaikai had engaged the development partner in 2018 for the purpose of having two additional floors in the chancery building. He said Dr. Kaikai also advised the partner to remit the fund to Freetown and that the first payment was made in February and the second, around July/August 2019.
According to Nallo, when he arrived in New York as the new Head of Chancery in November 2017, there were no official handing over notes from his predecessor, noting that his (predecessor) only returned briefly on one occasion, opened the office, collected some papers and locked up the office again and left with the keys to that office until March of 2018 he (Nallo) resumed duty.
Nallo said he held a meeting with the building contractor Jules Sanders Davies and reported the outcome to the then Ambassador, Adekali Foday but because Suma was on his way to Freetown he couldn’t do much about the situation of the building.
He said at that point, “everybody was hiding from the contractor due to the embarrassment” because they were desperate as the sub-contractor was on his neck. They would later end up in court for non-payment of monies owed to them.
He said he wrote to Freetown explaining the constraints of the mission with the deputy director general of administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dealing with the renovation of the chancery building and all other government properties abroad handling the matter at that time.
Nallo told the court that he was posted to New York because one Mr. Sesay was retiring and the ministry needed someone with the capacity and understanding of the UN and its subsidiary bodies to enhance Sierra Leone’s visibility and participation as well as to explore areas that the country could possibly benefit from.
As head of the chancery, Nallo said his responsibility was to coordinate the work of the staff of the mission and to supervise them in a manner to bring the best for the country.
Meanwhile, the First accused has also told the court that the UN Chancery Building is at present not fit for purpose and that it was a shame on the image of the country. He said the poor state of the building affected neighbors, who were then advised to sue the mission.
He said the New York State Building Department also reported the mission to the State Department after an inspection they conducted on the building and they wrote a letter warning the mission that it would be held responsible for any harm caused by the decaying structure. He said the medical insurance company also refused to issue a certificate to cover the building.
Nallo narrated how he used to turn down visitation to his office at the chancery building from his colleagues working at the UN, due to its deteriorating state and that at a point staff at the Sierra Leone Chancery building had to move to the Uganda Mission building, where they rented the eighth floor.
The trial resumes on Wednesday 26th July 2023.
Copyright © Politico (21/07/23)
