By Feima Sesay
The 23rd prosecution witnesses Sergeant Mani Atonkoa Saffea has on Monday 8th April 2024 testified before Justice Komba Kamanda – presiding judge over the treason trial that he was told by the assilants that their plans were not to kill but to get rid of the rotten system.
The witness led in evidence by state counsel A. Jalloh said he is attached to the Transport squadrum Joint Logistic Unit (JLU) Murray Town as driver and has been a driver since 1999.
The witness recognized the 1st accused person, Amadu Koita Makolo, 6th accused Hassan Leigh , 9th accused ASP Ibrahim Sesay and the 12th accused Abdul Sorie Hassan Kamara.
He recalled 26th November 2023, adding that on that day he was at home and whiles at home he heard gunshots sound from afar towards Wilberforce in the early hours of Sunday.
Upon hearing the gunshots sound, the witness said himself together with one Sergeant Koroma came outside and made a call and were later told that Wilberforce was under attack.
The witness said he immediately onboarded a kekeh to his office and whiles at Lumley around the roundabout, he felt a tap on his back, and the person told him that they were calling him inside one Jeep.
“I went there to see who was calling me and I saw one Sergeant inside the vehicle together with Leutinunant Colonel Johnson who instructed me to go with them but I replied that I didn’t know where they were going but he said they were heading for Cockrill whiles I was heading for Murray town. He also told me that he would drop me at Cockrill for me to onboard another vehicle to my office,” the witness narrated.
He said he onboarded the vehicle and they left for Cockrill, adding that on their arrival they met one corpse lying at the entrance gate of Cockrill.
Whiles at the Cockrill gate, the witness said they saw some of the assilants wearing combat trousers and were all masked, and they halted Colonel Johnson to stop the vehicle which he did, noting that the sergeant Marker who was with Colonel Johnson was carrying weapon and the assilants, he said, forcefully removed the weapon from sergeant Marker whiles colonel Johnson rushed with the vehicle inside Cockrill gate whiles the assilants he said were still following them.
Colonel Johnson, he said, opened the vehicle and ran away and they chased after him but said he could not tell what happen to him, adding that himself together with Sergeant Marker came down the vehicle and ran away, noting that whiles they were running, the assilants started firing at them and they dashed on the ground for their safety but said they were inventually captured by the assilants and they asked him who he was and he told them that he was a pastor, adding that one of the assilants who knew him told the others not to kill them because he is a good driver and would drive the other vehicle for them.
“They asked me to join them saying that they did not come to kille anyone but to remove the rotten system and they took us away and on our way, we met two military police vehicles which they instructed me to drive one of them, but I discovered that the front tire of the passenger seat was deflated,” the witness told the court.
The witness Pastor Saffia in further evidence said on the other vehicle, he saw Leutinunant Colonel Sandi talking to an unknown person saying that he did not have keys to the arms and ammunition store.
He said it was at that moment that he came to know that colonel Sandi was talking to Koita when he mentioned the name Koita, adding that another person came saying that they should go to ordinance at Murray Town where the arms and ammunition head quarters is in an attempt to get more Weapons and later at transport squadrum to get vehicles.
An unknown person dressed in mask, he said, came closer to him and placed his weapon nuzzles on the ground wanting to fire his feet, but he said he immediately removed his feet from where it was placed and the assilants fired the shot.
Koita, he said, got angry at the man for firing the shot saying that he had instructed them not to fire again, noting that where the gun was fired if the court moved to that position the impact is still there.
The witness said they left for Murray Town and whiles they were about to go, one of the assilants told him not to go with them inorder to take care of the corpse, according him, he saw three corpses all dressed in military combat lying on the ground; one at the gate, two at the fence and the other was told by the assilants to collect at AFTC.
When they eventually left according to the witness, he ran towards the Air wings where he met Sergeant Marker and other personnel who were in hiding.
He said he later received a call from one Sergeant Clay as to his whereabout whom he gave the information about the assilants plans to attack Murray town barracks.
“I believed that God used me that day to save this nation”, witness told the court in tears.
The reason why he relayed that message, according to him, was that after God Almighty, it is the ordinance that holds the people of Sierra Leone.
The defense Counsel Lawyer MP Sesay requested an adjournment pursuant to section 186 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1965, stating that in view of the judge order allowing the witness to testify, and the fact narrated requires the defense to confront him with the fact.
He said they have been having difficulty to access the first accused at Pademba Road Prison, noting that they wrote a letter dated 5th April 2024 asking the D G of Correctional Facility to allow them accesss to Koita but were refused access.
The prosecutor lawyer A Jalloh said they were not opposed to an application for an adjournment, but the provision the defense referred to, he said, did not help.
The matter was adjourned to Thursday 11th April 2024 whiles the accused were remanded in prison.
