By Francis H. Murray
Police Constable 15756 Aiah Fengai, a security guard assigned to the residence of the Deputy Internal Affairs Minister, Lahai Lawrence Leema, testified on Friday 7th August 2020 before Magistrate Mark Ngegba in the ongoing preliminary investigations into a 14 count charge against three accused persons for allegedly attacking the Deputy Minister at his residence.
The witness recalled that he was on duty on the 1st February 2020 at the Deputy Minister's residence, when he saw stones and bottles been thrown inside the compound.
He said: “I opened the gate and saw a group of irate youths outside the Minister's residence. The crowd then started insulting the minister with some of them shouting, we’re not here for you, but for the Deputy Minister.”
The witness said soon afterwards, the group attacked him and attempted to take his weapon away from him but they were unable to do so, adding that he used pepper spray to disperse the attackers, but that they still would not leave the area. He said even after firing a warning shot in the air, they continued to attack him. "I tightly held on to my gun when the 1st and 2nd accused persons rushed at me and attempted to disarm me. A few seconds later, I saw the 2nd accused with a long machete. I realized at the height of the attack that I could lose my life, so I had to engage my rifle and shoot at the first accused," he said.
OSD Fengai said the Deputy Minister came out of his room and stood in his veranda and was then informed about the attack, adding that the Minister then ordered him to maintain his defensive position while he made several calls which brought two military officers as well as the then Assistant Inspector General of Police, (AIG) Sovula (now Inspector General of Police), with some troops to the scene.
Under cross-examination by the 1st accused, Alie Sajah Forster, who was shot on his left foot, and whose lawyer was absent, the witness disclosed that he shot the 1st accused outside of the residence of the Deputy Minister and not inside.
When the witness was challenged by Foster who argued that he didn’t attack the Deputy Minister but that they had come from the house of a man for whom they had worked and were given some amount of money which they attempted to share among themselves in the streets outside the Minister’s residence, the witness denied, saying that Foster was among the attackers.
Foster also argued that the witness had no evidence to show that they were rioting, stressing that the man they had worked for on the day of the incident came to the scene and confirmed that they were not rioting but had come from his premises where they were working. The witness replied that he had evidence against the accused.
Answering to the 2nd accused, Victor Emmanuel Sesay, who argued that he was not carrying a machete and that it was the witness who came out and offended them, the witness denied, saying that the accused was among the attackers.
The third accused, Michael Abass Turay, who was also not represented by a lawyer, noted that the Deputy Minister had earlier testified that there was no altercation between them which the witness agreed to.
Turay called the attention of the court to the testimony of the police investigator Inspector Mohamed Kargbo, when he told the court that the police didn't have any exhibit against them and that he (Turay) was arrested at the residence of the 1st accused.
The witness noted that the 3rd accused was at the “scene of crime” and that all of them were in riotous mood on the day of the attack.
The prosecution alleges that Alie Foster, Victor Emmanuel Sesay, and Michael Abass Turay on the 1st February 2020, during the national cleaning exercise, at Minah Drive, Juba in Freetown, conspired together with some other persons unknown to attack the Deputy Internal Affairs Minister, Lahai Laurence Leema.
The charges against the accused persons range from conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to cause malicious damage, riotous conduct, to carrying offensive weapon without lawful authority, among others.
The matter, being prosecuted by Assistant Superintendent of Police R. H Bah, was adjourned to the 21st August 2020.
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