By Francis H. Murray
More witnesses have testified before Magistrate Mark Ngegba in Freetown in the ongoing preliminary investigations into recent violent disturbances in the northern regional headquarter town of Makeni which claimed the lives of at least five people.
In his testimony, the head of police operations in the north-east, Assistant Superintendent George Momoh recognized some of the accused persons and remembered receiving a call from AIG Frank Alpha, inviting him and other personnel to a meeting at his residence in Makeni.
He said during the meeting, they were informed by the AIG that the head of the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) had told him that they were going to pick up the standby generator in Makeni to transfer it to Lungi International Airport.
He said after a while, someone who identified himself as the deputy Mayor of Makeni called to inform the AIG that some irate youths were at the EDSA office in Makeni causing mayhem. The witness said that upon receipt of that information, he left for the Makeni Police station and proceeded to the scene of the riot with some of his personnel. ‘‘Upon our arrival, we met some irate youths on riotous conduct: they were burning vehicle tyres and soon began pelting stones at us. So we arrested four of them and took them to the station.’’ he noted.
During cross-examination by lead defense lawyer Warah Serry-Kamal she told the witness that the accused persons he identified as having been arrested at Magbenteh, including Abu Bakarr Momoh Kamara whom he identified as Idrissa Conteh were not arrested there, but near the Makeni cemetery.
She added that the witness was trying to deceive the court, and fabricate a case against the accused persons, whom she argued; the prosecution had no case against.
ASP Momoh maintained that he was the one who arrested them at Magbenteh.
Lawyer Kamara further noted that Mohamed Idriss Koroma whom the witness identified as the sixth accused does not bear that name but goes by the name Mohamed Conteh, adding that the second accused that he also identified as Idrissa Turay is actually Abu Bakarr Momoh Kamara.
The witness insisted that those were the names the accused persons gave initially to the police.
Second prosecution witness, ASP Anthony Moriba Simon Gaya also recognized the first accused saying he came to know him on the day of the riot. He recalled that on the 17th and 18th of July 2020, at about 20:30 hours, he received a phone call from the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Frank Alpha in respect of riot at the National Petroleum Filling Station in Makeni, adding that he visited the scene and met hundreds of youths chanting "we nor go gree, we go die ya." (We will not accept it, we will die here).
The witness said together with one Lieutenant Bangura he made efforts to persuade the youths to leave the area and advised them to report to the police station if they had grievances, rather than gathering unlawfully, “but they didn’t listen and instead started throwing stones at police officers. I then gave instruction for warning shots to be fired into the air. They moved a bit far ahead of us, and went round the EDSA fence and used the back gate to gain access into the office while my colleagues and I were manning the main gate. During this period, the first accused was arrested and handed over to me, and I ordered that he be taken to the police station for questioning," he explained.
ASP Gaya added that he and his men made efforts to disperse the remaining youths that were still at the EDSA Office. ‘‘We sent them out of the compound and they went in another direction. Before long, I received intelligence that youths had vandalized the Sierra Leone People's Party office. I then sent another team to the said office for deployment," he added.
The witness said that on the 18th of July 2020, while still at the EDSA Office, he received phone calls that youths were rioting in the town center and he then informed the Operations Officer, who assured him that he will take control of the situation.
In her application for bail, lawyer Wara Serry-Kamal noted that the offenses against her client were bail-able and that the accused had not been implicated in the matter in any way, referring to the offenses as ‘‘summary.’’
State prosecutor lawyer Yusuf I. Sesay objected to the bail application with an affidavit in opposition, arguing that because of the number of witnesses involved in the matter, if the accused persons are admitted to bail, they will interfere with the prosecution witnesses.
In response lawyer Serry-Kamal responded that the affidavit was ‘‘defective’’, lacking ‘‘particularity’’ and “without a date” and urged Magistrate Ngegba to discountenance it.
All accused persons were remanded in custody and the matter adjourned to the 27 August 2020.
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