LEADERSHIP AND COMMAN D STRUCTURE

chairm an in Cockeril l. Massaquoi told them that he was an RUF member and that he was

se nt by his leader, Foday Sankoh. I-I665

648 8. Massaquoi told the w itness that he bro ught with him pho ne numbers to give to

Korom a for Taylor, President Mainassara of Niger, President Blaise Cornpaore of Burkin a

Faso, and President Moh amed Gaddafi of Libya . I-I666 About 48 hours after Massaquoi

arrived in Cockerill, Koroma ordered his contro l office r Banj a Marrah to dial a number.

Banjah made the call and handed the phone over to Koroma. Koroma then spoke on the

phone and asked for recogniti on from Taylor in Liberia. Th ose present in the roo m during

the conversat ion, including the witn ess, co uld not hear the other side of the con versat ion, but

heard Koroma saying "Y es, sir. Yes, s ir. We need a [sic] recognition" and othe r th ings the

witness co uld not recall. After the call , Korom a sa id that he had spoken with Taylor and

as ked for Tay lor's recogniti on and that Taylor had adv ised them to "work wi th othe r

brothers who had com e to join us" , meaning the RUF, and Korom a sa id that this wo uld not

be a probl em. Taylor also told Koroma that in case of any "h iccu ps" , problems bet ween the

AF RC and the RUF, Korom a sho uld ca ll him.I -I667

6489. Afte r this phone ca ll. the witness and the Supre me Counci l were present when

Korom a called Presidents Main assara, Co mpao re, and Gaddafi , Koroma then told those

present that a ll of them sa id that they were ready to ass ist them . I -I668 The calls lasted tor

abo ut an hour, and the longest ca ll was with Tay lor. I-I669

6490 . Kargbo also testifi ed that at some point before 19 July 1997, Korom a ca lled Taylor

on the telephone in a meeting of the Supreme Counci l, at whic h Kargbo was not present, to

discuss Koroma se nding a delegati on to Taylor in Liberia. In a second meeting at whi ch

Kargbo was present, Koroma told the delegation that they should take a letter he had written

to Tay lor asking him to recognise the A FRC government.14670 The delegati on was headed by

1461,; Sam uel Kargbo. Tran sc ript 2 1 May 2008, pp. 10440-1044 2; Transc ript 22 May 200 8. pp. 10512-10513:Transcript 2 Jun e 2008 , pp. 10664-1 0667, 10734 .

14(,(.(, Samuel Kar gbo, Tra nscri pt 2 1 May 2008 . p. 1044 2; Tran scri pt 2 June 2008, p. 10672 .

1461;7 Samue l Kargbo, Tran script 2 1 May 2008, pp. 10443-10446: Transcript 22 May 2008 , pp . 10512-10513;Transcript 2 J une 200 8, pp, 10666-1 0668. 10671 - 10672 . 10738.

I,M X Samuel Kargbo, Transcript 2 1 May 2008 , pp, 10446-10447: Transcrip t 2 June 2008. p. 10737.

W ,(,_ Sa muel Kargbo. T ransc ript 2 1 May 2008. p. 10447.

146 70 Sam uel Kargbo, Transcript 2 1 May 2008 . pp, 10453-10454: Transcr ipt 2 June 2008. pp. 10704-10707. SeeSamuel Kargbo, Transcr ipt 2 June 2008. p. 10684 (testi fying that this delegation led by SY B Roger s tra ve lled toLiberia be fore 19 July. 1999) .

2296Case No .: SCSL-0 3-0 1-T 18 May 201 2

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

SYB Rogers and include d Mik e La mi n, A K Sesay and Colone l Cha rles Conte h, amo ng

othe rs. 1467 1 Th e de legation trave lled to Monrovia, and the n we nt from Libe ria o n to Niger ,

Libya and Burkina Faso.14672 It was th rough this meeting that the Junta rece ived formal

. . bi G f Lib . 14671recognition y t te overn me nt 0 l en a. .

6491 . T he witness stated that ther e were seve ral phone calls between Kor om a and Tayl or

during thi s tim e peri od . Afte r the first delegat ion we nt to Lib eri a, Ko rom a told ano the r

Supreme Council meeting that Kargb o atte nded that he was send ing a seco nd delegati on to

Liberia led by Mik e La min of the RUF, Lieu tenant-Co lone l Fo nti Kanu of the AF RC and

General Ibrahim Bah to pu rch ase anTIS and ammuni tion for the Junta.1 4674 Bet ween 48 and

78 hours later ,1 4675 a del egation headed by Mike Lamin and incl ud ing Fo nti Kanu, and

General Ibrahim14676 travell ed to Liberia l4677 and between o ne and two weeks later an arms

I . . d b 1Mb k 14678S uprnent amve y p ane at ag ura a.

6492. Kargb o co nfinned that he was present at the first meet ing of the AF RC held on 19

Jul y 199 7.14679 He testi fied that be fore this meeting, Tamba Gbori e trav elled to Abidjan to

meet w ith ECO WAS lead ers so as to "know ho w to so lve the probl em s between [the AFRC]

and the S LPP gove rn ment". 14680 The witness stated ECO WAS leaders were refu sing to

recogni se the Junta govern me nt, excepting Liberi a, Burkina Faso and N ige r, which d id

recogni se the Junta.14681 At thi s first meeting of the A FRC, the members discu ssed the

recognition by these foreign governments o f thei r regime, but this discuss ion was not writte n

in the minutes o f the meeting becau se it was secret.14682 He then stated that with his

test imon y in thi s tr ial , he was the first per son to reveal thi s secret recognition by these

for eign go ve rn ments. 14683 The witness testi fied that the co untries wa nted to keep this a secret

1 ~ (, 1 1 Samuel Kargbo, Transcr ipt 2 I May 2008. pp. 10453- 10455; Transcript 2 June 2008. pp. 10704- I0708.

1~ (,12 Samuel Kargbo. Transcrip t 2 1 May 2008. pp. 10455-10456.

1 ~61J Samuel Kargbo, Transcript 2 June 2008. pp. 10668, 10685.

1 ",, 1~ Samuel Kargbo, Transcri pt 2 1 May 2008, pp. 10455-10459. 10477; Transcript 2 June 2008. pp. 10704­10708.1~(,1 ; Samuel Kargbo, Transcript 2 I May 2008. p. 10458.

l ~h 1(, Samuel Kargbo. Transcript 2 I May 2008, p. 10457.

l~h71 Samuel Kargbo, Transcri pt 21 May 2008. p. 10478.

1~ 61 ~ Samuel Kargbo, Tran script 2 I May 2008. pp. HH58- I0459 ; Transcript 2 June 2008. p. 10710.

1 ~ (,1" Samuel Kargbo, Transcri pt 2 June 2008. pp. 10674-19675.

l~hX O Samuel Kargbo. Transcrip t 2 June 2008. pp. 10681-10682.I ~(,XI Samuel Kargbo, Transcript 2 June 2008. pp. 10681-10682. 10684.

1 ~ (,X 2 Samuel Kargbo. Transcri pt 2 June 2008. pp. 10686-10689.

I~" ~ ) Samuel Kargbo. Tran scrip t 2 June 2008. pp. 10689-10690.

2297Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

so that in public they co uld abide by ECO WAS rules. such as not allow ing the Junta

members to cross throu gh Liber ia. while in private they could suppor t the Junta.14684

Prosecuti on Witness TF 1-371

6493. Prosecu tion Witness TFI -37 1 testifi ed that at the end of May 1997, 14685 he travelled

to Mon rovia and spe nt approx imate ly one and a half wee ks there.14686 From there he crossed

into Sierra Leone and travelled to Buedu.1468i The next day, Bockari e se nt a vehicle to

collect the witness, and he travelled to Kenema where he met with Bockarie, Issa Sesay and

Eddie Kann eh. 14688 Bockari e told the witness that he had been given instructions by Sankoh

to join the AFRC, and that he was on his way to Free tow n. 14689

64 94 . When the witness arrived in Freetown in July, they had an emergency meeting of the

AF RC at Cockeri ll mil itary barracks because ofa major invasion of Nigerian troops that had

occ urred.1469o The meeti ng was about se nding a del egati on to Ab idja n to part icipate in peace

negoti ations on the Sie rra Leo nea n co nflict orga nised by the ECO WAS Co mmittee of

Four. W>9! The meetin g was not successful, however , because ECO WAS wanted the Jun ta to

turn the government over to the democrat icall y e lected government of Pres iden t Kabbah,

which the Junta refused to do.14692 The Foreign Mini ster of the governme nt of Sani Abacha

sta ted that it was useless to continue negoti atin g and they wo uld be forced to take military

. . I J f S' L 1469,actron to eject t ie unta rom ierra eo ne. -

64 95. After the witn ess returned to Freetown, in August 1997, he received a call from

Johnny Paul Koroma to report to his office . Korom a gave him a letter to be deli vered by a

146. 4 Samuel Kargbo, Transcript 2 June 2008. p. 10691.

14(" 5 TF I-37 1. Tran scrip t 25 January 2008. pp. 2286-2287 (CS).

W.x6 TF1-371. Transcript 25 January 2008, p. 228 7 (CS).

1~"X l TF I-37 1, Transcr ipt 25 January 2008, p. 2287(CS) .

141.", TF 1-371. Transcrip t 25 January 2008, pp. 2289- 229 1 (CS) .

I~I.X ·' TF I-37 1, Transcr ipt 25 January 2008 . p. 2290 (CS) .

IWI<)TF I-37 1. Tra nscr ipt 25 January 200 8, p. 2292 (CS) .

14W I TF I-37J. Tran scrip t 25 Janu ary 2008. pp. 2293-2294 (CS) .

1M 2 TF I-37 1, Transcript 25 January 2008 . pp. 2293-229 4 (CS) : TF 1-371. Transcrip t 3 1 January 2008. p. 278 1(CS) .

141,"3 TFJ -37 J. Transcr ipt 25 January 200 8. pp. 2293 -2294 (CS) .

2298Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

delegation to Taylor, asking him to assist the AFRC in gett ing recognition within ECOWAS ,

and stat ing that the y were fighting for thi s recogniti on because the y were " bes ieged". 14694

6496. When the delegati on, headed by Karifa Smart, arri ved in Mon oriva they met with

John T. Richardson, who was a member of Taylor's government, and Smart briefed

Richardson on their mis sion in Monrovia. Richardson in turn got in touch with Monie

Captan, the Liberian Foreign Mini ster who a lso met with the delegation.14695 Captan sa id

that he was als o "d isa ppo inted" with the Kabbah government, and he would see what he

could do to transmit the letter to Tay lor. The del egati on stay ed in Monrovia for two days.

Captan told the delegation th at he had given the letter to Taylor, and that Taylor was very

busy and co uld not meet with them, but he was willing with wo rk with the ECO WAS

committee to recognise the A FRC Junta. Captan said that Ta yl or had been in touch with

Johnny Paul Koroma and they should return to Freetown. and that Taylor would send his

deputy mini ster to pay their bill s and escort them to the airport, whi ch the deputy minister

did the foll owing morning. 14696

6497. On their return to Freetown the delegation briefed Koroma on their tr ip, who stated

he had a lrea dy been in touch with Taylor and that Taylor assured Koroma he would work

with them to get recognition .14697 Following the meeting with Kororna, the witness went to

see Sam Bockarie at his residence at Hill Station and briefed him on the trip . Bockarie told

him that Ibrahim Bah was in town, and he wanted the witness to acc ompany him to meet

Bah at his hotel. Bah told the witness that he was coming from Monrovia, where he had

been told by Tayl or to meet Koroma in order to help the Junta to ge t arm s and

ammunition. 14698 TFI-371 testified that Taylor was in control of the RUF in 1997, but that

he did not control the Junta government. 14699

Prosecution Witness Isaac Mongor

I.';". TFI-37!. Transcript 25 Janua ry 2008. p. 2300 (C5 ); TFI -37!. Transcript 3 1 January 2008. pp. 2778-2780(C5).

'Wi' TFI-37!. Transcript 2li January 2008. pp. 2303-2304 (C5) .

W o') '; TFI-371, Transcript 28 January 2008. pp. 2305-2306 (C5): TFI-37!. Transcript 3 1 January 2008, pp. 2775­2778 (C5) .Iw n TFI -37I . Transcript 28 January 2008. p. 2307 (C5) .

w o"x TFI-37!. Transcript 28 January 2008, p. 230& (C5).

W o" " TFI-37!. Transcript 1 February 2008. p. 2894 (CS) .

2299Case No.: SCSL-03-0 J-T 18May 2012

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTU RE

6498. Witness Isaac Mongor testified that the day after the AFRC coup d 'etat he was in the

bush, and he received an instruction from Sam Bockarie, which Bockarie said was from

Sankoh, to leave there with his soldiers and jo in the AFRC in Freetown.14700Approximately

one week later he and his men arrived in Freetown, and Mongor became a member of the

Supreme Council.14701

6499. Mongor testifi ed that he was present at a meeting at Bockarie' s residence at Hill

Station in Freetown at which Ibrahim Bah, whom Mongor knew to be an NPFL Special

Forces fighter, said that Tay lor sent him to ask the RUF to work together with the

AFRC.14702 Also present in the meeting were Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon, Foday Lansana

(a.k.a. CO Nya), Gibril Massaquoi and others. 14703

6500. The RUF members were happy to hear this message, and took Bah to the residence

of Johnny Paul Koroma to give him the same message. Koroma sent for other AFRC

members including SO Williams, Gullit and Bazzy, after which Bah repeated the message

from Taylor that the RUF and AFRC should "work hand in hand", a message that was "well

received" by everyone present.1 47U4 Mongor testified that they were happy because they

needed help, and believed Bah would be able to help them get ammunition. The RUF

members told Bah that they agreed to work with the AFRC, and then Koroma and Bah held

"a closed-door meeting", but the contents of these discussions were not disclosed to

Mongor.1 4705 Bah stayed the night, and then left Freetown.1 4706After this, Koroma would tell

the Supreme Council that he was communicating with Tay lor, and he told Mongor that he

I d I Liberi 14707P anne to trave to 1 ena.

Prosecution Witness Albert Saidu

650 I. Witness Albert Saidu, an RUF adjutant from 1991 to 200 1,1 4708 testified that during

the Junta period problems somet imes erupted between the AFRC and RUF; the AFRC were

14700 Isaac Monger , 10 March 20008, pp. 5698-5703.

14701 Isaac Monger, 10 March 20008. p. 5705.

1 4 70~ Isaac Monger, 10 March 20008. pp. 5702-5704; Transcript. II March 2008. pp, 5711·57 12.

IH03Isaac Monger , Transcript II March 2008. pp. 57 12·57 13.

14704 Isaac Monger , Transcript. 11 March 2008. pp. 57 12-57 14.

IHO; Isaac Mongor. Transcript. II March 2008. pp. 57 13-57 15: Transcript 4 April 2008. pp. 6658·6659.14706 Isaac Mongor, Transcrip t. II March 2008. p. 5714.

14707 Isaac Monger , Transcript. II March 2008. p. 5717.

1470X Albert Saidu. Transcript 4 June 2008, p. 10895.

2300Case No. : SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

former SLA s and the RUF former guerr illas and so the AFRC believed the RUF were not

" fully-trained military pers onne l". 14709 In approxi mate ly April 1998, when Saidu was based

in Koindu, he read a message in the radio logbook of the radio operator Se lasie which came

from Buedu . Acco rding to this message, Tay lor and Bockarie had a discussion and Tay lor

sent a message that the AFRC and RUF should "co me togethe r as one", and should "work

hand in glove" in order to fight together to achieve their goa ls.14710

Prose cution Witness TF 1-567

6502. Witness TF 1-567 testi fied that wh ile he was based in Tongo he wo uld mine on his

own, and travel to Kenema to se ll his diam onds or to visit Sam Bockarie. On one occasion at

the end of 1997, the witness met Daniel Ta mba (a.k.a. Jungle), with Bockarie. Jungle gave

Bockarie a message from Tay lor tell ing him that he shou ld not be "so invo lved" in the

AFRC government.t' "! '

Prosecuti on Witness Daud a Aru na Fornie

6503 . Witness Daud a Aruna Fornie , a radio opera tor, test ified that aro und late 1997, he was

ass igned to work as a radio operator with Sa m Bockar ie in Kenema Town. Fornie was in

co mmunication with alm ost eve ry AF RC/ RUF station con cerning the movement o f troops,

the coordinati on of mining, and req uests for ar ms and ammunition. The witness was also in

contac t with the radio statio n in Liberia where Tay lor was based.1 471 2

The Acc used

6504 . The Accused denied that , as Samuel Kargbo test ified, the AF RC asked the RUF to

join the Junta government in order to gai n himself as a contact, and that fo llow ing this he

was in freq uent co ntac t with Johnny Paul Koroma, provi ding support. The Acc used furth er

denied that he spoke to Koroma dur ing the Junta period, say ing the first time he spoke to

Ko roma was in August 1999. 14713 He stated that even if he had spoken to Koroma, he would

have been authorised to do so as a me mber of the Co mmittee of Four. He also denied that

1 41O~ Albert Saidu, Transcript 4 June 2008. pp. 11 005-11 008.

14710 Albert Saidu. Transcript 4 June 2008. pp. 11005-11006.

Im l TF I-567 . Transcript 2 June 2008 . pp. 12889-12890 ; Transcript 8 July 2008. pp. 13150-1 3151.

14712 Dauda Aruna Fernie. Tra nscript 2 December 2008. pp. 2 14 1S-2 142 1. 2 142S-2 1433 .

1m 3 Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 2 November 2008 . pp. 308 13-308 17.

230 1Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

Liberi a recogni sed the Junta government, and stated that not one West African country did

SO.1 471 4

6505 . Further, the Accused noted that Samuel Kargbo testified that the phone call between

the Accused and Koroma occurred two weeks after the coup d 'etat on 25 May, while other

testim ony indicates that within day s of the coup a recording was played on the BBC that

Sankoh had instructed the RUF to j oin the AFRC.1471 5

Defence Witness Issa Sesay

6506. lssa Sesay testified that when he arrived in Freetown, approximately three or four

days after the AFRC coup d'etat, Johnny Paul Koroma called Foday Sankoh at his hotel in

Abuja. Koroma recorded the conversati on, and played the tape of this communication on

SLBS radio. Sesay denied that Gibril Massaquoi brought teleph one numbers from Sa nkoh to

Koroma, saying that in June or Jul y of 1997 he brought letters.14 71 6

Prosecution Exh ibit P-13 I

6507. Exhibit P-13l is a copy of the minutes of the first AFRC meeting held at their

Defence Headquarters on 19 July 1997. A note at the top indicates that the document was

"secret". The document states that Johnny Paul Koroma and other members of the AFRC

and RUF, including Samuel Kargbo, were present. It als o states that at this meeting,

Corporal Gborie briefed members on his trip to Abidjan, explaining that he enc ountered

"difficulties" with the Nigerian Foreign Mini ster, until there was a change of mind by the

Foreign Minister and the othe r delegates " in favour of the Sierra Leon e Delegation". He

emphasised that any act of aggress ion aga inst civilians would not help them at the next

ECOWAS meeting. According to a note at the bottom of the page , the document was

distributed to all members .1471 7

Deliberations

14 7 1 ~ Cha rles G hankay Taylor , Tra nscript 2 November 2008. pp. 308 14-30 815.

1m ; Cha rles Ghankay Tay lor. Transcript 2 November 200 8. pp. 308 16-308 17.

W I(, Issa Sesay , Transcrip t 30 Jul y 2010 . pp. 45116-45118.

147 17 Prosecuti on Exh ibit P-131 "Minutes of the First Meetin g of the AFRC held at the Conference Hall . DefenceHeadqu arters on Saturday 19 Jul y 1991".

2302Case No.: SCSL- 03-0 1-T 18May201 2

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6508. The Prosecution puts forth severa l allegati ons concerning the Accu sed ' s relationship

with the A FRC/RUF go vernment during the Junta period, and the Tri al Chamber

summarises these as follows: The Prosecution alleges that the AFRC invited the RUF to j oin

the Junta go vernment so that they co uld ga in access to the Accused. and that. in j oining the

Junta government the RU F gave the Accused 's contac t information to the AFRC. I4718 The

Accu sed accepted and recogni sed the Junta government, and told the AFRC that he wo uld

encourage ECO WAS members to do so as well.1471 9 The Accused urged the two parties to

work together. and said that if Johnny Paul Koroma had any problems with the RUF . he

should call him .1472o Finall y, the Prosecution alleges that the Accused remained informed of

the activities of AFRC/RUF government via radio communications and intermediaries, and

maint ained the strong alli ance between the two groupS.I4721 The Defence denies that the

Accused played any of these roles.

6509. Several of the Prosecution allegations rely on the testim ony of Prosecution Witness

Samuel Kargbo: that the AFRC invited the RUF to join the Junta in order to gain contact

with Taylor. that the RUF supplied Koroma with Tay lor's phone number, and that Taylor

recognised the AFRC/RUF alliance and told Koroma that if he had any trouble with the

RUF he should call Taylor. Kargbo also testified to the delegation sent by Koroma, which

travell ed to Liberia in ord er to gain Taylor's recogniti on and assistance. and Kargbo stated

that it was through this meeting that the Junta received recognition by the Government of

Liberia.

6510. The Trial Chamber note s some confusion in Kargbo ' s testimony with regard to dates.

He testified about two different delegations sent by Johnny Paul Kororna, one of which was

later in time and sent to Monrovia for the purpose of purchasing anns and ammunition. In

this context, the Trial Chamber will not consider Kargbo's testimony concerning this second

delegation. as it is not relevant to the Prosecution 's a llega tions. With regard to the first

delegation. Kargbo testified that it was led by SYB Rogers and sent to ask "the Liberi an

government headed by Mr Charles Ghankay Tayl or" to recognise the Junta. 14722 Kargbo

1471 8 Prosecut ion Final Tri al Briel: para. 186.

14m Prosecution Final Tri al Brie f. para s 185-188.

Im o Prosecut ion Final Tr ial Brief. para. 186.

Im l Prosecuti on Final Trial Brief, para. 185.

14m Sam uel Kargbo, Transcript 2 June 2008 . p. 10669. The Trial Ch amber note s that on direct examinat ion.Kargbo testified that Koroma asked to r recognition from Tay lor him sel f: Sam uel Kargbo, T ranscript 2 1 May

2303Case No .: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 Ma y 201 2

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

contended, how ever, that the delegation ' s tr ip occ urred before the first AFRC/R UF meeting ,

which he co nfirmed took place on 19 Jul y 1997.lm 3 Kargb o mistakenly sa id that Tay lor was

Presid ent of Lib eria in July 1997,l m 4 when in fact Taylor was inaugurated President in

August 1997 .14725

65 11. The Trial Chamber notes that T F 1-371 also test ified about a delegation sent by

Ko roma to de live r a lett er to the Accused asking for his ass istance in getti ng recognition for

the A FRC within ECO WAS. The T rial C ha mber cons iders that this is the same delegat ion

to which Kargb o testifi ed, altho ugh TF 1-371 said it was led by Kari fa Sma rt, not SY B

Roge rs. Both witnesses tes t ified that the delegation was sent to deli ver a lett er to the

Accused seeking recognition for the AFRC governme nt. TF 1-37 J tes tified that the

delegation we nt to Mo nrov ia in August 1997 . The Tria l Chamber recalls its find ing that

TF 1-371 and Samuel Kargbo are both ge ne rally cred ib le witnesses,14726 However, in these

circums tances, the T ria l Cha mber cons ide rs that TF 1-371 wo uld have been better placed to

know how these even ts transpired and ac cepts his evide nce that the delegati on travelled in

A ugust 1997, whic h wo uld have been afte r the inaugurati on of the Accused as President of

Liberi a. Tho ugh the Defe nce notes that in a pr ior statement, TF 1-37 1 stated he went to

Mo nrovia to discuss "peace prop osals", the T rial Chamber accepts his testimony that he did

clarify this to investi gators at the tim e of his stateme nt. 14727

65 12. Whe n co nfronted with the inco ns istency of his ev ide nce on the date tha t th is

delegat ion trav elled to Monrovia, Kargbo insisted that the Gove rnme nts of Liberia, Niger ,

and Burkina Faso had recogni sed the Junta govern me nt before the Jul y 1997 meetin g, but he

sai d that it was a "secret" so that they co uld support the Junta while sti ll abid ing by

ECOWAS rules.14728 He stated that he was the first person to reveal this secret recog nition of

2008 . p. 10445 (John ny Pau l was . . . asking for recognition from Mr Ghankay Taylor in Liberia). but on crossexami natio n. the Defence asked Kargbo if Kororna had reques ted recognition from "the Liberian government",and Kargbo answe red that this was "exactly it", but that "Taylor was ready to recognise us" : Samu el Kargbo ,Transc ript 2 June 2008. p. 10668.

14nJ Exhibit 1'- 13 1 "Minutes of the First Meet ing of the AFRC held at the Conference Hall. DefenceHeadq uarters on Saturday 19 July 1997", p. I: Sam uel Kargbo, Transcript 2 June 200 8, p. 10684.

Im4 Samue l Karg bo. Transcript 2 June 2008. pp. 10670-10 671.

1m ; "Joi nt Filing by the Prosecution and Defence: Admitted Facts and Law" Fact No. ( I)(d ).

1m ,; Credibility Assessment. Samuel Kargbo, paras 290-295 : Credibility Assessment. TF I-37 1, paras 220-2 26.

14727 TF I-37 1, Transcript 31 January 200 8, pp. 2775-2778.

Im~ Samuel Kargbo. Transc ript 2 June 2008 . pp. 10688-10689.

2304Case No.: SCSL-03-0 I-T 18 May 20 12

LEAD ERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

I J b h e ' duri hi , . h di 14729 1'1t le unta y t ese roreign gove rnme nts unng IS testimony III t ese procee ings. te

Trial Chambe r notes Kargbos evide nce that one or two wee ks afte r the AF RC took power,

Sankoh and Koroma spoke and Gibril Massaquoi was sent by the RUF to Monrovia,

bringing teleph one numbers for Taylor and the head s of state o f N iger, Burkina Faso and

Libya. Koroma ca lled these leaders, and acco rding to Kargbo, they were ready to assist. The

longest call was with the Accused, who wo uld not have been a head of state at that time but

who adv ised Koroma to wo rk with the RUF and told Koroma to ca ll if there we re any

pro blems .

65 13. The Trial Chamber considers that these phone call s indic ated the support of the

Accused and the Heads of State for the AF RC and notes Kargbos ex planation that the

recogn ition by these states was to be kept a secret so that in public they co uld comply with

ECO WAS rules while in private they could support the Ju nta. The Trial Chambe r co nsiders

that by secret recogni tion , Kargbo was referring to pri vate support, and accepts that these

commitments came before the July meeting of the AFRC. Altho ugh Tay lor was not a head

of state at that time, he became President soo n after and from Kargbo' s perspect ive, his

commitment would have co ntinued into his presidency.

65 14. The Tria l Chamber notes that the minutes of the 19 July 1997 AF RC meeting, in the

record as Exhibit P-131, indicate that Co rporal Gborie repor ted to AF RC/RUF members on

his trip to Abidja n, at which he spo ke with ECO WAS officia ls about the legitimacy of the

Junta government. 14730 The report does not menti on recogn ition of the Jun ta gov ernment by

N iger, Burk ina Faso or Libya, and it ind icates that difficulties were enco untered in the

discus sions. TF 1-371 testified that the Abidjan meeting was not succe ssful, and that the

members of the ECO WAS co mmittee were committed to returning President Kabbah to

pow er. lm l The Trial Chamber finds th is evidence con sistent with Kargbc ' s testim ony that

the re was concern about ECO WAS rules, and that co mmitme nts made to the AF RC we re

made sec ret ly. The fact that these co mmitme nts are not recorded in the minutes of the

meeting is not surprising as they were made privately and were in contradiction with the

public positions of the co nce rned heads of state.

147! " Samuel Kargbo, Transcr ipt 2 June 2008. pp. 10689·1 0690.

147311 Exhibit 1'. 131 " Minutes of the First Meeting of the AFRC held at the Conference Hall. DefenceHeadquarters on Saturday 19 July 1997'". pp. 3-4.

Iml TFI .3?!. Tra nscript 25 January 2008. pp. 2293-2294 : Transcript 3 1 January 2008. p. 278 1 (CS).

2305Case No.: SCSL -03-0 I-T

/ ?"

~.

18 May 20 12

LEAD ERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6515 . Witn ess TFI-371 ' s test imon y that the head of the del egation to Monrovia, Kari fa

Smart, report ed that the Liberian Fore ign Minister told him that the Acc used was willing to

wo rk to get the J unta recogni sed by ECO WAS 1-1 731 is further supported by TF 1-371's

testimony that Jo hnny Paul Korom a told him that he had spoke n with the Accused who had

sa id the sa me. 1n33 T F 1-371 a lso met Ibrahim Bah in Mon rovia, who told him Taylor wo uld

work with the Junta. 14734 That the Accused told the AFRC right a fte r the co up d 'etat that he

wo uld wo rk with the Junta is also co rroborated by the test imony of Isaac Mongor. I -I 735

65 16. The T rial Cha mbe r notes that the Defence co ntention that the Accused fo llowed

ECO WAS prohibit ion s aga inst recogn is ing the Junta is not dispositi ve as to whether Tayl or

pri vatel y accepted and supported the Junta, impli c itly recogn is ing them while publicly he

agreed to ECO WAS dem ands. Further, the Defenc e c laim that the A FRC/RUF were not , in

fac t, as unit ed as the Prosecution co ntends does not preclude Taylor' s recogniti on and aid to

the Junta governme nt as a whole,l,m 6 Finally, the Defence co ntention that Bock ari e and the

RUF ' s co mmunications with Tay lor prior to the Junta pe riod make the AFRC/RUF's

struggle to ga in recognition from Taylor unb elieva ble are unavaili ng; the T rial C ha mber

notes that the new Junta governme nt wo uld have need ed a reaffirm ation of Taylor's support

foll owing the joining o f the two gro ups, a nd their overthrow of the Kabbah govern me nt.

651 7, For the above reasons, the Tri al C hamber find s that the Prosecution has pro ven

beyond reasonabl e doubt that the Accuse d accepted and recogn ised the Junta govern me nt.

and told the A FRC/R UF that he would enco urage ECO WAS members to do so as well.

6518, The Tri al Cha mbe r notes that Kargbo 's evidence regarding Kororna' s telephone

co nve rsation with the Accused, in which the Accuse d told Korom a to wo rk with the RUF is

confirmed in substance by the ev idence of Isaac Monger, who testifi ed that Ibrahim Bah

14732 TF 1-37 L Tra nscr ipt 28 January 2008 , pp. 2305-2306 ; Tra nscript 3 1 January 2008, pp. 2775-2778 (CS) ,

14733 TF 1-371. Transcript 28 Janu ary 2008. p. 2307 (CS),

1473 4 TF I-37 1. Tran scr ipt 28 Janua ry 2008, p. 2308 (CS) .

14735 Isaac Mon gor 10 March 20008 pp. 5702 -570 4: Transcri pt II March 2008 , pp. 57 11-57 17.

1m " Defe nce Fina l Trial Brie f, para . 842. citing Adju dicated Fact 4: Exhi bit 0 -084 : Exhibit 0 -085: Exhibit P­067: Dauda Aru na Fornie . 4 December 2008 . pp , 2 1737-2 1742. 21748-21749; TF 1-567. Tra nscript 8 July 2008 ,pp. 13170-13172. The Trial Chamber also notes that the Defence contentio n that Kargbo test ified that the phoneca ll between Kororna and Sankoh occurred " two weeks" after the coup d'etat. Charles Ghank ay Tay lor ,Transcript 2 November 2008. pp. 308 16-308 17, misrepresents Kargbo ' s testi mony. Kargbo testified that thephone call occ urred between one and two weeks after the coup. Sam uel Kargbo , Transcr ipt 21 May 2008, pp.IOHO - I0442, testimony which the Tria l Chamber does not find in and of itse lf incredib le,

2306Case No.: SCSL-03-0 I-T 18 May 2012

LEAD ERSHIP AN D COM MAN D STRUC TURE

brought the same message from the Acc used to both Bock arie a nd Korom a. that they should

"work hand in hand" .14737

65 19. The Trial Chamber furt her notes the substant ial ev ide nce in the reco rd tha t the

Accused was e ngaged in a rms and diamonds transacti ons and co mmunications with the

AF RC/RUF government during the Junta.14738 For example, the Tri al Chamber has found

that a ship me nt of materi el negoti ate d with Sa m Bockari e and Johnny Paul Koroma by

Ibrahim Bah on beh al f of the Acc used was deli vered by plane to Magburaka some time

between October and December 1997.14739 The Trial Cha mber also found that du ring the

Junta period , Dan iel Ta mba (a.k.a. J ung le) brought ammuni tion provided by the Accused to

the RUF in Sierra Leo ne.14740 The T rial Cha mber found that d iam on ds min ed in Ko no and

Tongo fields were deli vered from the RUF to the Acc used by Jung le in excha nge for arm s

and ammunitio n du ring the period of May 1997 to Febru ary 1998 .1 4741 The Trial Chamber

also notes th e testimon y of Dauda Aruna Fornie, who m the Trial Chamber fo und to be a

ge nera lly credible w itness ,14742 that the RUF rem ain ed in co ntact with Taylor during the

Junta period .14743 The Tria l C hamber notes that the ev ide nce of Prosecuti on Witn ess T F I­

567 , that wh ile in Kenema, at the end of 1997, he heard Dani el Ta mba (a.k.a. Jungle) deli ver

a message from Tay lor telling him not to be "so involved" with the AFRC , 14744 indica tes that

the Accused rem ained informed of the activ ities of the AF RC/RU F government.

Findings

652 0. The Trial C ha mber finds that the Prosecu tion has proved beyond reasonable dou bt

that the Accused accepted and supported the Junta gov ernme nt, and told the AFRC/ RU F

that he would enco urage ECO WAS members to do so as well. He also encouraged the

AF RC a nd RUF to work togeth er

14737 Isaac Monger, Transcript II March 2008, pp. 5712-5714.

1m _ See also Samuel Kargbo , Transc ript 2 1 May 2008 . pp. 10448-10452 (Taylor instructed Johnny Paul Koro mato arrest persons who had looted the Iranian Embassy in Freetown) .

1m ', Arm s and Ammunition: Allega tions that the Accused Facil itated Supp lies. Magburaka Shipment.

Imo Arms and Ammuni tion : A llega tions of Direct Supply by the Accused . During the Junta Per iod.

1H~1 Diamonds: Alleged Delivery of Diam onds to the Accu sed. Junta Period.

Im~ Credibility Assessment . Dauda Aruna Fornie, paras 346-3 58.

14W Dauda Aruna Forn ie, Transcript 2 December 2008. pp. 2 14 18-21 421. 2 1428-2 1433.

Im~ TF 1-567. Transc ript 2 June 2008 . pp. 12889-12890: Transcr ipt 8 July 2008. pp. 13150-13151.

2307Case No.: SCSL-0 3-0 I-T 18 May 20 12

42J01-LEADERSHIP AND COMMA ND STRUC TURE

Sa m Bockarie

tiL Bocka rie ' s promoti ons in the Post-Intervent ion Period

Submissions of the Parties

652 1. The Prosecution submits that around March 1998 , as part of the restru cturing of the

AF RC/RUF allia nce after the ECOMOG Intervention . Bockarie was prom oted to C hief of

Defence Staff for the whole movement , which made him the "hi ghest man" and "the leader"

in charge o f all the RUF. AF RC and STF forces. Bockar ie was also. at the same time.

prom oted to "Genera l". The Pros ecuti on submits that th is promotion was e ither a direct

prom otion from Tay lor or a joint decision made between Taylor and Korom a.1 4745 Bockar ie

himsel f ex plained in a meeting that everyone should take instruction from him becau se " the

chief, Tay lor, had pro moted him to the rank o f General, and Jo hnny Paul Koroma was

present during a meet ing when Bockar ie ex plained th is" .1 4746 T he Prosecution furthe r alleges

that foll owin g the Freetown Invasion , Tay lor rewarded Bockarie by promoting him to two­

sta r ge nera l.1474 7

6522. The Defen ce co ntends that it was Johnny Paul Koroma, and not Taylor, who

prom oted Bockarie afte r the Intervention. and Korom a promoted Bockarie to be Chief of

Defence Staff and " Brigadier". 14748 The Defence a lso claim s that it was Johnny Paul Koroma

who prom oted Bockarie to two-sta r ge nera l after the Freetown Invasion. 14WJ

Evidence

Prosec ution Witn ess T F I-3 7 1

6523 . Witness TF 1-371, an RUF mem ber ,1 4750 testi fied that he arr ived fro m Free town to

Buedu in the middle of March 1998.1415I Shortl y after his arriva l, he atte nded a meeting at

Sam Bockari e ' s hom e; Bockar ie had give n Johnny Paul Korom a his house to stay in. At the

14 7H Prosecuti on Final Trial Bri ef, paras 56. 147-148. 450. 454-455.

1m " Prosecution Final Tr ial Brief, para. 147.

14 747 Prosecut ion Fina l Tr ial Brief, para. 56.

Im g Defence Fina l Tria l Brief paras 597-602. 1259-1265.

1m " Defence Fina l Trial Brief. paras 875. 1266-1268.

14750 TFI-37L Transcript 29 Jan uary 2008. pp. 2555-2556 (CS).

Imt TF I-37 1. Transc ript 28 Jan uary 2008, p. 2363 (CS).

2308Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COM MAN D STRUC TURE

meeting K ororna prom oted Bockarie to be the C hief of the Defence Staff and at the sa me

time appo inted Bock arie to a brigad ier because. T F 1-371 testifi ed , that rank was

"commensurate with that offic e·,.14752 T F1-371 testified that Koroma decided to promote

Bock arie to Chie f of Defence Staff because Korom a ' s brother. SF Y Kororna, had ab andoned

the fighters and went to his village to hide.14753 TF 1-371 further testi fied that a ltho ugh he

was not supp osed to be, Bock arie was then " in charge of all of the AF RC, as we ll as the

SLAs and the RUF" .1 4754

6524. Witness TF 1-371 also testi fied that after the retr eat of forces from Freetown in 1999,

Bockarie left for Monrovia with his secur ity detail and Dan iel Tamba (a. k.a. Jungle), saying

to the witness that he was go ing to meet Taylor. Bockari e was in Mo nrov ia for

approxim ately one week, and while there, se nt a message to Issa Sesay stating that he had

arriv ed in Monrovia. had met with Benjamin Yeaten, and was wa iting to see Taylor.14755

6525. Wh en Bockari e return ed to Buedu, he was received by the witness and others. I4756

Bockarie arr ived with Joseph Marzah (a.k.a. Z igzag), who was a member of the SSS, an d

Bock ari e was dressed in "an Amer ican camo uflage uniform ", and a "gree n military beret

with two sta rs on it" .1 4757 Bockari e summo ned "a ll of us" to his office , whe re, when they

addressed Bockarie as " Brigad ier", Tamba sa id " [T jhe man is no longer brigad ier, he is a

lieutenant-general, he ' s a two star ge neral". Every one applauded for Bockar ie and Bock arie

said that he had a "two star crown on his beret", and that Tay lor prom oted him becau se the

capture of Koidu and Freetown had been a " mission accomplished" .14758 The witnes s a lso

saw that Bockari e had brou ght back from Monrovia two sets of the SSS un iform whic h we re

used by Tayl or ' s security members .14759

Prosecuti on Witn ess Kannoh Kanneh

14752 TF1-371, Transcri pt 28 January 2008. p. 2364 (CS).

1m ) TFI-371. Tra nscript 28 January 2008 . p. 2364 (CS).

\47 ; 4 TF I-371. Transcript 28 January 2008. pp. 2385-2386 (CS).

1m ; TF I-371. Transcript 28 January 2008. pp. 2429 -2430 (CS) .

1475(, TF 1-371. Transcr ipt 28 January 2008, pp. 2429 -2430 (CS).

14757 TF 1-371, Transcript 28 Janu ary 2008. pp. 2430 -243 I (CS) .

1m . TF I-37 1, Transcr ipt 28 January 2008 . pp. 2430-243 1 (CS) .

14W i TF J-371. Transcript 28 January 2008, p. 2431 (CS).

2309Case No.: SCSL-03 -0 I-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6526. Witness Karm oh Kann eh , an RU F co mma nde r, 14 760 testifi ed that at a meetin g of

approximately 600 sold iers and comma nders at Waterwork s that took place so metime in the

spring afte r the February 1998 ECOM OG Interventi on , in the presen ce of Johnny Paul

Korom a, Bock arie announced the changes to the AFRC and RUF comma nd st ructure and

his "new prom otion ". Kann eh testi fied that prior to the meeting, Bockar ie had travell ed to

Monrovia as a Co lone l, but had returned with " two high promotions" and was now a

Ge nera l. Kanneh furthe r testified that Bockarie sa id tha t it was " Pres ide nt Tay lor, Pa

Taylor" (a.k.a . Charles Taylor) who had given him these promotions.Y "!

Prosecuti on Witn ess TF 1-516

6527. Witness TF 1-516, an RUF radio operator ,14762 testifi ed that after the 1998 ECOMO G

Interventi on , Bockarie immediately retreated to Buedu. Right after TF 1-516 arr ived in

Buedu , Bocka rie ca lled a muster parad e "right to the MP" and ann oun ced that " I am just

her e from the other side" and that he had been promoted "by the Chief, Charles Tay lor" to

the rank of General, and that every one should now tak e their instructions from him.

Bockar ie had a new co mbat fatigue with the insigni a of a genera l, and wi th the military jeep

that "the Chief' had given to him . The milit ary fat igue was the same type of fatigue that was

wo rn by the Liber ian Anti-Terro rist Unit (a .k.a. ATU), w ho the witness understood to be the

body guards to Charles Tay lor.14763

Prose cut ion Witn ess A lbert Sa idu

6528. Witness A lbert Sa idu, an RUF adj uta nt from 1991 to 200 1,14764 testifi ed that when he

was assigned to Koindu in March 1998 an RUF junior commando named Se las ie show ed

him a rad io message they had received from Buedu from Charles Tay lor wit h the subjec t

line "pro mo tion", which stated that Taylor had prom oted Sa m Bockarie to the rank of

Gene ral.14765

Prosecuti on Witn ess TF 1-585

147(,(1 Karmoh Kanneh. Tra nscri pt 8 May 2008, p. 9390.

Wid Kannoh Kanne h. Transcript 8 May 2008. pp. 9392 - 9396.

]47(,2 TF I-5 16. Tran scri pt 8 April 2008. p. 68 45 .

147" 3 TF I-5 16, Transcript 8 Apri l 2008 . pp. 6854-6856.

1471,4 A lbert Saidu. Transc ript 4 June 2008, p. 10895 .

]47 05 Albe rt Said u, Tra nsc ript 4 June 2008. pp. 11004-11 005.

2310Case No .: SCSL-03 -0 1-T 18 May 201 2

4~304LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTU RE

6529. Witn ess TF 1-585 . an RU F radio operator ,14766 test ified tha t prior to Johnny Paul

Koroma's arrival in Buedu in the period after the February 1998 ECOMOG Inte rvention .

Sam Bockarie travell ed to Monrovia and returned with a green tactic al jee p, new arm s, and a

co mbat suit w ith a crow n or badge that signified the rank of Ge neral. TF 1-585 testified that

Bockar ie "told us" that it was the " Pa", or Charles Tay lor. who promoted him, and that there

we re doc uments to that effect. Bockarie took this trip to Monrovia before Johnny Paul

Koroma arrived in Buedu .14767

Prosecut ion Witn ess Perry Kamara

6530. Witn ess Perry Kamara, an RUF radio operato r,1 4768 testi fi ed that when Johnny Paul

Korom a arrived in Buedu sometime after the ECO MOG Intervent ion . Korom a immedia te ly

met with Sam Bockarie . During that same week, Korom a transmitted a message over the

radio for a ll of the AF Rc, RUF. and ST F. announcing that because he did not understand

jungle exercise, all of the AFRC and RUF were to take co mmands from Bockarie (a.k.a.

Mosqu ito). and that fro m that date onwards Bockarie should be the "l eade r for the

movem ent". 14769

Prosecuti on Witness Isaac Mo ngo r

653 1. Witn ess Isaac Monger, an RUF se ruo r co mma nde r,14 77o testifi ed that after the

AF RC/RUF fi ghters were pushed out of Free tow n in Feb ruary 1998, and after he had taken

Johnny Pau l Korom a to Koidu Town, tha t the command of the " Peo ple 's A rmy ' was

restructured . Amo ng other change s, Koroma prom oted Sa m Bockarie to

"defence chief of staff for the whol e movem ent". Mongor testifi ed that Korom a said that he

made this pro motion afte r speaking to "his brother" Charles Taylor. because Koroma was

W(,(, TF I-585 , Tran script 5 Sep tembe r 2008. pp. 15582-15584. 15589-1 5592 (PS) .

1-1767 TF I-585 , Transcript 5 September 2008. pp. 15617-15622. The new arms were desc ribed as "a series of AK­47. brand new ones that were not even being used with new AK rounds. They were in something like sardine tinswith roc kets" .

1m . Perry Kama ra, Tra nsc ript 4 Februa ry 2008. p. 3039.

W(,9 Perry Karnara, Transcript 5 Febru ary 2008 . pp. 3094 . 3 110-3 111.

1m " See for example: Isaac Monger , Transcript II March 2008. pp. 5749-5 750. 5760-5764: Transcript 31 March2008. pp. 6204-6 206. 6224-6225 : Transcript 3 Apri l 2008. pp. 65 12-65 13. 6551-6556. 66 13-66 15.

2311Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-1' 18 May 2012

4~305LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

planning to travel and prior to leaving he wanted to leave the AFRC and RUF "in one

accord" .14771

Prosecution Witness Augustine Mallah

6532. Witness Augustine Mallah, a security officer to Mike Lamin from 1996 to

disarmament,14772 was posed the following question: "You mentioned to the Judges earlier

that when Johnny Paul Koroma and Sam Bockarie or Mosquito met, that Mosquito told

Johnny Paul Koroma that now Mosquito was in charge. Can you tell us what was the

command structure now after the intervention and after you had come back to Buedu?"

Mallah responded, in pertinent part, that in the post-Intervention period, after Mallah had

returned to Buedu, Bockarie "had structured the RUF command structure. He was there

taking care of the RUF on behalf of our leader Foday Sankoh.. ..". He further testified that

everyone, including the AFRC, reported to Sam Bockarie at that time.I4773 Later in his

testimony, Mallah testitied that Sam Bockarie had promoted himself to the rank of General,

after which he also assigned himself the position of battlefield commander. 14774

Prosecution Witness TF 1-539

6533 . Witness TF 1-539 testified that following the February 1998 ECOMOG Intervention,

the entire army fell into disarray, disturbing the command structure. However, Sam Bockarie

"was able to put the entire RUF structure under a strong command and control. ...the men we

expected to receive commands from, like Johnny Paul and some of his Supreme Council

members, they had all gone into disarray somewhere in the north, whilst some of us found

ourselves in the east, so there was actually no command structure amongst the SLA. It was

only Sam Bockarie who had the absolute command".14775

The Accused

Iml Isaac Monger. Transcript I I March 2008 . pp. 5740 -574 1.

14m Augustine Mallah . Tra nscri pt 12 Novembe r 2008. pp. 20092-200923 . 20 I02-20 103; Tra nscr ipl 13November 2008. pp. 20209-202 10.

(4 17) Augustine Mallah. Transcr ipt 13 November 2008. pp. 2020 3-20204 .

14m August ine Mallah, Transcrip t 17 No vem ber 2008. p. 204 12.

1m , TF 1-539. Tra nscr ipt 10 June 2008. pp. 11 397-11398.

23 12Case No.: SCSL-03- 0 I-T 18 May 2012

LEADERSHIP AND COMMA ND STRUCTURE

6534. The Accuse d deni ed that he prom oted Sa m Bockarie when Bockarie met wi th him

for the first time in Monrovia in February 1998 afte r the ECOMOG [ntervention .I4776 H

further denied that he provided Bockari e with a jeep, med icin es, uni forms. o r tha t he

promi sed him a safe hou se in Monrovia. When as ked whethe r he prom oted Bockarie to be

co mma nde r of the RUF. the Accuse d testified that he had not don e so , but tha t rath er Foday. 14777

Sankoh had made that promoti on.

6535. When q ues tioned o n the testimony of Karmoh Kanneh, the Acc used responded that

he did not prom ote Bockari e, and that th is evi de nce co nfl icted wi th evi de nce already be fore

the Tri al Cha mbe r that those promotions were made by Johnny Paul Koroma after he

retreated fro m Free tow n in February [998. and that Johnny Paul Korom a held a me et ing and

he made those prom ot ions in wh ich Sa m Bockarie became the chief of defence staff in

S ierra Leone. Tay lor sa id. "Now he is attributing that to me. Never, ever gave any

sugge stion or recommendat ion for a ny promoti on o r any thing c losely re lated to that in Sierra

Leon e. Never did " .14778 When qu esti oned again conce rn ing th is prom oti on . the Accuse d

stated, " I'm not and [ really mean not invol ved in any prom oti on o r recommendati on of any

offic ers of the RUF at a ll. No ne" .14779

6536 . The Accused a lso deni ed that he prom oted Bockarie to Lie ute nant-Genera l after the

Freeto wn Invasion, 14780 He sta ted that if Bockarie was promoted to Lieutenant Genera l, he

wo uld have had thr ee sta rs, and not two, because two sta rs denotes a Major Ge neral.14781The

Accu sed, as President , could not have promoted a gene ra l any where, because even in the

Govern me nt of Liberia the Pres ide nt does not prom ote ge nerals. Th e Acc used a lso

wondered why, if Bockarie has bee n in cha rge a ll of the yea rs that Foday Sankoh was go ne,

that he wo uld have been prom oted by the Acc used. and test ified that perhap s Bockari e was

"j ust mes s ing with these boys ".14782 Further. even if Bockarie did return to S ierra Leone

1m " Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 3 August 2009 . pp, 2581 1-258 1-l. Whe n asked "D id yo u promote SamBockarie to Gene ral?" Tay lor testified "No. no. no. no, no. no. Why would I do that? Sam Bockarie is not my ­he is not my military personne l. How could I promote him?"

IH 77 Charles Ghanka y Taylor. Transc ript 3 August 2009. p. 25815 .

1m . Char les Ghankay Tay lor. Transcript 28 Octobe r 2009. pp. 30574-30575.

1n79 Charles Ghankay Tay lor. 2 November 2009 . pp. 30859-30860.

1m " Charles Ghan kay Tay lor. 23 September 2009. p. 29590.

inK! Char les Ghankay Tay lor. 23 September 2009. p. 29589.

147K2 Charles Ghankay Tay lor. 23 Sep tember 2009 . pp. 29589-2959 1.

23 13Case No.: SCSL-03-0 I-T 18 May 201 2

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

from Libe ria with a two-star beret, he co uld have bought it at any mil itary store in Mo nrovia,

put it on, and pronounced he was a ge neral.14783

Defen ce Witness Issa Sesay

6537. Witn ess Issa Sesay, a senior RUF co mmander,14784 tes tified that he arr ived in Buedu

in late Febr uary or early Ma rch 1998. When he arrived, Sa m Bockarie was still a field

co mmander, but a few days later Jo hnny Paul Koroma ap pointed Bockar ie as Chief of

Defence Staff and pro mote d him to the rank of Brigadier. When asked in examination -in­

chief whether it was in fac t Charles Tay lor who prom oted Bockar ie, Sesay testified that "No,

it was not Charles Tay lor. In fact, this was . . . in the presence of many of us. I was not the

only person or Bockar ie alone ; all the other officers in Bued u were at Sa m Bock arie ' s house

when Johnny Paul anno unced that promotion to Bockarie", Koroma also prom oted Sesay to

the rank of Co lone l. Sesay explained that Koroma had the power to make these prom ot ions

because at that tim e he, Bockarie and Lam in still regard ed Korom a as the leader of the

AF RC, and beca use Foday Sanko h had told them to take instructions fro m Koroma . Sesay

a lso testified that Bockarie ' s de ference to Koroma at that time was ex hibited in the fact that

Bock arie had left his bedroom and given it to Korom a.14785

6538 . Sesay further test ified that he was in Makeni after the Freetown Invasion in January

1999 when he heard that Johnny Paul Koroma had pro moted Bockar ie to be a two-star

ge neral, and after th is Bockarie started to wear two stars on his beret. 14786

Prosecut ion Exh ibit P-062

653 9. Exhibi t P-062 is a chart created by the Prosecuti on and based on TF 1-371 's

testimony on the AFRC/RUF alliance com mand structure in the Post-Intervent ion peri od.

Sam Bockari e is designated as the Chief of Defence Staff ("CDS"), and the Hea d of the

AF RC/RU F fight ers that were in RUF-controlled territory .14787

Prosecut ion Exhib it P-572

1m 3 Charles Ghankay Taylo r. 23 September 2009, pp. 2958 9-2959l.

In'~ lssa Sesay. Transcript 26 July 20 10. pp. 44590-4459 1. 44596.

lm s Issa Sesay, Transcrip t 8 July 2010. pp. 440 14-44017.

In,,, Issa Sesay, Transcript 18 August 20 IO. pp. 4666 2-4666 3. 46667 .

2314Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTU RE

6540. Ex hibit P-572 is a co lour photograph of two men, one of whom is dre ssed in a green

ca mo uflage uni form and a red beret wi th two stars on it w hom Issa Sesay ident ified as Sa m

Bockarie. 14788

Defen ce Ex hibit 0 -009

654 1. Exhibit 0-009 is an RUF Sa lute Report dated 26 Se ptembe r 1999 from "Major

Ge neral Sa m Bockar ie" to Foday Sanko h as " Leade r of the Revolution" . In this report ,

Bockarie is reporting to Sankoh on what had taken place during his de tentio n in Nigeri a. In

reference to his promotion , Bockarie wrote tha t " [W[hen J P Koroma arrived in Kailahun, he

appo inted me to take over co mmand for both the RUF and the SLA as Chief of Defence

Staff with the ran k o f Brigadier Ge nera l. In orde r to motivate the most senio r office rs, I took

it upon myself to app oint Brig. Issa as Batt lefie ld Commander and Co lonel Mingo as Battle

Group Co mmande r" . Bockari e then writes that afte r the Free tow n Invasion , in January 1999,

he was "aga in promoted by J P Koroma to the rank of Major Gen eral',.1 4789

Defence Ex hibit 0-084

6542. Exhibit 0 -084 is an RUF Sal ute Report dated 27 September 1999 from Brigadier

Issa Sesay in his ca pac ity as RUF Battl e Field Co mma nder to Fo day Sankoh as " Leader of

the Revolution ". With reference to Sa m Bockarie's 1998 post-ECOMOG Interventi on

prom otion , Sesay wrote that "J P Koroma appo inted Ge nera l Mosquito as C hief of Defence

Staff w ith overa ll co mmand over both the RUF and the SLA and promoted him to the rank

of Brigad ier Ge neral. General Mosq uito ca lled on me and info rmed me that since he had

been made Chief of Defence Staff for both the RUF and the SLA by J P Koroma he wanted

to tum ove r his ass ignme nt of Battl e Field Co mma nde r to me and asked me to tum my

ass ignment of Battl e Group Co mma nde r ove r to Supennan" .14790

Deliberation s

1 ~ 7X7 Exhibit P-062. "AFRC/R UF Alliance Command Structure AIter the Fall of the Junta, circ a March 1998. asindicated by TF I-37 1",

Im K Exhib it P-572, "Photograph of Sam Bockarie with Camouflage and Beret". See Issa Sesay. Transcript 18August 20 I0, pp. 46663-46668.

1m ') Exhibit 0-009. "RUr Defence Headquarters. Salute Report to the Leader of the Revol ution from MajorGeneral Sam Bockarie. dated 26 September 1999" . p. 5. ERN 9662 .

1~ 790 Exhibit 0-084. "RUF. Sierra Leone. Defence Headquarters. Salute Report. from Brigadie r Issa H SesayBattle field Co mmander RUF/S L. to the Leader of the Revo lution. 27 September 1999" . p. 6. ERN 776 1.

Case No.: SCSL-03 -0 r-r23 15

18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6543 . At the outset, the Trial Chamber is cog nisant of the De fen ce ' s cha llenges to the

Prose cution 's evid ence regarding the date and circumstances of the first meeting betw een

the Acc used and Boc kar ie, in particular the discrepancies between the testimoni es of

Varrn uyan Sherif and Daud a Aruna F0l11ie.14791 However, the Trial Cha mbe r has accepted

Fe rnie's ev idenc e with regard to the trip made by Bockar ie immediatel y afte r the

Intervent ion to Mo nrov ia. I4792 In the Trial Chamber ' s view, Fernie 's testim ony that on their

way back from Monrovia to Sierra Leone Boc karie told Forni e that he met with the Accused

and the Acc used sa id that he wo uld help the RUF "to the bes t o f his ability" , 14793 is

corro borated by Exhibit P-067, according to which follow ing the Interventi on the " High

Co mma nd" met with the Accused who "prom ised to give his max imum support to the

RUF" .14794 Moreover, the Trial Chambe r has found that Bockarie met the Acc used in

February/March 1998 during which the Acc used instruct ed Bockar ie to mainta in hold over

Kono.14795 The Trial Chamber a lso note s that on the first day of his testim ony the Accused

said that he first met Bockarie in late 1997/early 1998, 14796 only to change his version later

on in his testimony that he first met Bockarie in September 1998.14797 The Trial Chamber

therefore finds the Acc used 's testim ony incred ible. In light of the ev ide nce, the Trial

Chamber finds that the Acc used first met Boc karie in late February /early March 1998 .

654 4. With regard s to the Prosecution allegation that Taylor promoted Bockarie after the

Interventi on , the Trial Chamber finds that ev idence add uced by the Prosecut ion to prove that

so metime around Marc h 1998 the Acc used either directly , or through a joint decision made

be tween him self and Johnny Paul Kororna, promoted Sam Bockarie, is inconsistent. While

Prosecuti on witnesses Karmoh Kanneh, TF 1-516, A lbert Sa idu, and TF 1-585 testifi ed that

Tay lor prom oted Bock arie,14798 Prosecution Witnesses TFI-371 and Perry Kamara testi fied

Im l Defence Final Tria l Brief, paras 1513-1518.

1~ 7'12 Operational Support: Communications, RUF and NPFL Radio Codes and Communications: Arm s andAmm unition: A llegations of Direct Supply by the Accused . During Sam Bockaries Leadership (February 1998­December 1999).

1m 3 Dauda Aruna Fornie, Transcript 2 December 2008 , pp. 2 1454-2 1455.

J~ 7')~ Exhibit P-067. RUF Peop le' s Arm - Situation Report to Foday Sankoh from the Blac k Guard Commander" ,ERN 9674.

1~ 1'>5 Military Operations: Operations in Kono (Early 1998): Diamonds: Alleged Del ivery o f Diamonds to theAccused. February 1998-July 1999.

1 ~7% Charles Ghankay Tay lor. Transc ript 14 Ju ly 2009 . pp. 24337-24338 .

I ~M Charles Ghankay Tay lor. Tra nscript 3 August 2009. pp. 25805-25806, 258 19, 25827. 25828 -25830:Transcript 5 August 2009. p. 26004.

Im R Karm oh Kanneh, Transcript 8 May 2008 . pp. 9392- 9396 : TF I-516 . Tra nscript 8 Apri l 2008. pp. 6854­6856; Albert Sa idu, Tra nscript 4 June 200 8. pp. 11 004-11 005: TF 1-585. Transcript 5 September 2008 . pp.

2316Case No.: SCSL -03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

that Johnny Paul Koroma promoted Sam Bock arie. W 99 Prosecuti on Witne ss Isaac Mongor

also testified that Koroma promoted Bockarie after first consulting with Taylor, 1~ 800 while

Prosecution witness Augu stine Mall ah testified that Bockarie promoted himself 1~ 801

6545. The Trial Chamber notes that both Issa Sesay and TF 1-371 provided fi rst-ha nd

evidence that Bock arie was promoted by Koroma at a meeting at Sam Bockaries house in

Buedu in late February or March 1998, at a time when Bock arie had vacated his bedroom in

order to host Koroma as a guest.14802 The close ly matching accounts of the two witnesses do

not menti on the Accused as having been involved in the promotion . Their account is

corroborat ed by the hearsay evidence of Perry Kamara, 1~ 80J and the documentary evid ence

of the reports introduced as Exhibit 0 _009,14804 and Exhibit 0 _084.14805

6546. With regard to the rank and title o f the prom otion, Kanneh, Mallah and TF 1-371

testified that Bock arie was promoted to Genera l and Chief of the Defence Sta ff.14806 Mon gor

testified that Bockarie was promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff.14807 TF 1-5 16, Albert

Saidu, and TF 1-585 testified that Bockarie was promoted to Genera l. l4808 Perry Karnara

testified that Bock arie was promoted to be the " leader of the movement" .14809 TF 1-539

test ified that because the entire arm y had fallen into disarray, there was no command

structure am ongst the SLA and it was only Sam Bockari e who had the abs olute

co mmand.148 lO The Trial Chamber also recalls the testimony of Isaac Mongor that Bock ar ie

15617- 15622.

I~M TF I-371. Transcript 28 January 2008, pp. 2363 -236 4 (CS) : Perry Kamara, Transcri pt 5 February 2008. pp .3 110-3 111.

I~WO lsaac Mon gor . Tran script I I Mar ch 2008 , pp . 5740-574 1.

I ~W I Augustine Mallah , Transcript 17 November 2008, p. 204 12.

1 ~ 8"2 TF 1-371. Transcript 28 January 200 8. p. 2364 (CS); lssa Sesay, Transcript 8 Ju ly 20 IO. pp . 44014-4401 7.

H XO) Perry Kam ara, Transcript 5 February 2008, pp. 3 110-3 1I I.

1 ~ 8"~ Exhibit 0-009, " RUF Defence Headquarters, Salute Report to the Lead er of the Revolution from MajorGeneral Sam Bockarie, dated 26 September 1999" p. 5, ERN 9662.

1 ~ 8" j Exhibit 0 -084, " RUF . Sierra Leone. Defence Headq uarter s. Salute Report. from Brigadier Issa H SesayBattlefi eld Commander RUF/SL. to the Leader of the Revolution, 27 September 1999", p. 6. ERJ'J" 776 1.

l ~ x"6 Karrnoh Kanneh, Transcript 8 May 2008, pp . 9392- 9396; Augustine Mall ah, Transcript 17 No vember 2008.pp . 204 12; TFl-371, Transcript 28 January 2008, pp . 2364 (CS) ; Exhibit P-062 ;'A FRC/RUF Alliance CommandStru cture Alte r the Fall o f the Junta, ci rca March 1998. as indicated by TFl -371" .

I ~X01 isaac Mongor, Transcr ipt 11 March 2008 . pp . 5740-574 1.

I~ X"X TF I-5 16. Transcript 8 April 2008. pp. 6854-6856 : Albert Sa idu, Transcript 4 Jun e 2008. pp . 11004-11005;TF 1-585, Transc ript 5 September 20 08. pp . 156 17-15622.

I ~ X "" Perry Kamara . Tran script 5 Febru ary 2008. pp. 3 110·3 11I.

1 ~ X1 " TF 1.539. Transcript 10 June 2008, pp . 11397-11 398.

23 17Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18l\1 ay 201 2

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

was promoted to "defence chief of staff for the whole movem enCI4 81 1 and Mall ah's

testim ony that Bockarie prom oted himself.1 481 2

6547 . Co ns ide ring the man y witness es who mentioned the Accu sed in their testim ony

relating to Bockarie 's promotion,1481 3 the Trial Chamber co nsiders that he may well have

been co nsulted by Koroma, as one witn ess testified, or talk ed directl y with Bockarie about

the promoti on as Bockarie had just been in Monrovia. The Tria l Cham ber notes that much of

the evidence is hear say, which might expl ain the many different versi ons of this promotion.

In light of these many different ve rs ions, the Trial Chamber is unable to find bey ond a

reasonable doubt that the Accused prom oted Bockarie, as alleged by the Prosecuti on.

6548. Co nce rn ing the Prosecuti on' s allegati on that Taylor prom oted Bockarie to two-star

ge nera l afte r the Freetown Invasi on, the Prosecuti on relies on the evidence of T F I-37 1 to

support this proposition. TF 1-37 L however, heard from Bockarie in a meeting in Sierra

Leone that Taylor made this prom otion in Liberia, but T F 1-371 had no way of co nfirm ing

that Taylor was, indeed, the person who made the promotion . The Pro secution also proffers

Exhibit P-572, a colour photograph o f Bockarie in a camo ut1age uniform and red beret with

two stars; though thi s corroborates TF 1-371's testimony that Bockarie wore this uni form

and beret, the phot ograph does not corroborate TFl-37l' s testimony that Taylor prom oted

Bockarie.

6549. Issa Sesay testified that he heard that it was Johnny Paul Koroma who prom oted

Bockarie, but the Trial Chamber notes that this ev idence is a lso hearsay. The Trial Chamber

further recalls its finding that Sesay is not a ge nera lly credible witness and his testim ony

must be corroborated . 14 81 4

6550. The Defence proffered DCT-009, an RUF Salute Rep ort dated 26 September 1999,

written from Bockarie to Sankoh. In thi s report, Bockarie informs Sankoh that in January

1999 , he was prom oted by Johnny Paul Koroma. The Trial Chamber has no reaso n to

believe that this contemporaneous document is not reliable, and in fact , both parti es rely on

1. ' 11 Isaac Monger . Transcrip t I I March 2001!. pp. 5740-574 1.

1m2 Augustine Mallah. Transcript 17 November 2008, p. 20412.

I . " ) Karrnoh Kanneh , Transcript 8 May 200 8, pp. 9392- 9396: Isaac Mongor, Transcrip t II March 2008. pp.5740-5741 : TFI-516, Transcript 8 April 2008, pp. 6854-6856; TFI-585, Transcript 5 September 2008, pp.15617-15622: Albert Saidu. Tra nscript 4 June 2008, pp. 11 004-11005.

1m. Credibility Assessme nt. lssa Sesay. paras 359-372.

231 8Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

the document as evidence of the matters ass erted therein.118lS Thi s document, corroborated

by the testimony of Issa Sesay , raises a doubt as to the Prosecution's allegation that Taylor

promoted Bockarie.

Findings

6551 . The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable

doubt that in about March 1998 Tay lor promoted Sam Bockarie to the post of Chief of

Defence Staff for the AFRC/RUF alliance with the rank of Brigadier General.

6552. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable

doubt that the Accused promoted Sam Bockarie to the post o f two-star general after the

Freetown Intervention.

.uiL Allegation that in December 1999 the Accused ordered Sam Bockarie to leave

Sierra Leone and come to Liberia

Submissions of the Parties

6553 . The Prosecution alleges that the conflict which arose between Foday Sankoh and

Sam Bockarie after the Lome negotiations prompted the latter to leave Sierra Leone on 14

December 1999 and seek "safe haven" with the Accused in Liberia.1 481 6 According to the

Prosecution, the Accused in fact ordered Bockarie to do SO.1 48 17 The Prosecution further

submits that the Accused kept Bock arie's arrival in Liberia secret from President Obasanjo

when on 21 December 1999 the two of them met at Roberts International Airport to discuss

the peace process and the problems arising from the conflict between Sankoh and

Bockarie.1 4818 The Prosecution therefore submits that this meeting was a "diplomatic

deceit", organized by the Accused to cover his clandestine actions .1481 9

1-181; See Prosecution Final Trial Brief, para . 145. footnote 471: para. 146. footnotes 476-477 : para . 161, footnote512; para. 220. footnote 683 ; para . 273, footnote 796; para. 520. footnote 1505; para. 539. footnote 1538: para .565, footnote 1586. See Defence Final Trial Brief. para. 582, footnotes 1464. 1466: para . 583, fo otnote 1471:para. 585. foo tnotes 1471. 1476: para. 586, foo tnote 1484: para . 587, footnotes 1485. 1487-1488 ; para . 601 ,footnote 1544: para. 602. fo otnote 1546.

1-1 8 11, Prosecution Final Trial Brief. paras 204. 334. 388.

I-Im Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 5 February 20 10, p. 34859.

I-Im Prosecuti on Final Tr ial I3rieL para . 204.

I-I 'I ~ Prosecuti on Final Trial Brief. para. 204.

2319Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 2012

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6554. The Defence does not dispute that in December 1999 Bockarie was told by the

Accused to travel to Liberia but submits that the evidence used by the Prosecution is

insufficient to show a superior/subordinate relationship between the two of them and only

shows that the Accused was playing a mediating role between Bockarie and Foday

Sankoh.14820 The Defence further argues that the Accused 's efforts to "extract" Bockarie

from Sierra Leone and into Liberia in December 1999 were carried out under the auspices of

ECOWAS I4821 for the purpose of convening a meeting between the Accused, President

Obasanj o, Sam Bockarie and Foday Sankoh, as part of the peace process.14822

Evidence

Prosecution Witness Perry Kamara

6555. Witness Perry Karnara, an RUF radio operator,14823 recognised the resignation

message sent by Sam Bockarie and testified that it was written at the time Bockarie had a

conflict with the RUF and decided to leave and go to the Accused in Liberia. 14824

Prosecution Witness Foday Lansana

6556. Witness Foday Lansana, (a.k.a. CO Nya) an RUF radio operator,14825 gave evidence

to the effect that toward the end of 1999, Sam Bockarie had come to challenge the

leadership of Foday Sankoh within the RUF.1 4826 As a result , the latter contacted the

Accused and asked him to intervene and calm down Bockarie.1 4827 The witness further

testified that under the command of the Accused, Bockarie was then ordered to leave Sierra

Leone and go to Liberia.14828 Lansana testified that he knew this because the events took

I he ti h d M . d . h wi h B . . y 14829P ace at t e tune e entere onrovia an was 111 touc Wit enjamm eaten .

Prosecution Witness TF 1-579

1<>20 Defence Final Trial Brief , para. 1297.

14' 1 1 Defence Final Trial Bricf. para. 663.

uszz Defence Fina l Trial Brief , para. 933.

14m Perry Kam ara, Tran script 4 February 2008, p. 3039.

14' 24 Perry Kamara, Transcript 4 February 2008, p. 3080 .

1m ; Foday Lansana, Tra nscript 20 February 2008. pp. 4361-4362.

14' 2(, Foday Lansana, Transcr ipt 22 February 200 8. pp. 4573-45 74.

14m Foday Lansana, Transcript 22 February 2008, p. 4574.

14'1 ' Foday Lansana, Transcript 22 February 2008. p. 457·l,1. ' 19 Foday Lansana, Transcript 22 Februar y 2008. p. 4574.

2320Case No.: SCSL.-03-0 1-1' 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6557. Witness TF 1-579, an SSS mem ber, I483o testified that in late 1999 Sa m Bockarie

entered Liberia with a large numb er of bodyg uards .Y'" The witness furth er test ified that

Bockarie spo ke wit h him in Monrovia and told him that he had left S ierra Leone only

because the Accused ca lled him and to ld him he shou ld do so .14832 The witness also gave

evidence that the Accused told Bockarie he should leave Sierra Leone because o f Fod ay

Sa nko h's fears that Bockar ie migh t take over the RUF. The witness then quoted Bockarie

say ing: "had it not been for the Chief who ca lled me to co me we wo uld have all fought for

that place unt il all o f us lost the gro und" ,1m 3 TF 1-579 testified that Bock ar ie used the term

"Chief ' to refer to Tay lor.14834 Furthermore, the witness gave tes timony that during this

co nversation Bockarie a lso stated that wi th San koh wanting him dead, he would now only

f II d t' 'r I 14815o ow or ers rom ay or. -

Prosecution Witnesses TF 1-516 and TF 1-371

6558. Witness TF 1-516, an RUF radio operator, I4836 gave test imony to the effec t that when

Sa m Bockarie left the RUF, he took with him a good numb er of RUF sold iers and then

crossed the border into Liberia .14837 T he witness also sta ted that Bockarie was chase d by a

group of RUF so ldiers who were se nt by Issa Sesay to attac k his base in Buedu and

subseq uently foll ow ed him to the Liberian bord er. 14838 TF 1-371 furth er testified that while

Sa m Bockarie and his group of so ldie rs were a llowed to cross, the pursuers were sto pped

and severely beaten by the Liberian so ld iers.14839

T he Accused

6559. T he Accused testifi ed that toward the end of 1999 the con flict between Bockarie and

Sa nko h led to a sp lit within the RUF and vio lent c lashes between the two new ly formed

14X30 TF1-579, Transcript 5 November 2008. pp. 19822-19823.

14X31 TF I-579. Transcript 5 Nove mber 2008, pp. 19856. 19858.

14X) 2 TF I-579, Transcript 5 Nove mber 2008, p. 19859.

14X.1) TFl -579, Transcript 5 November 2008, p. 19859.

14X.14 TFl-5 79, Transcript 5 November 2008, p. 19860.

1m ; TF l -579 . Transcript 5 November 2008. p. 19860.I4X31> TF I-5 16, Transcript 8 Apri l 2008, p. 6845.

14K.17 TF1-516, Transcript 9 April 2008. pp. 7037-7038 .

14X) X TF I-5 16. Transcript 9 Apri l 2008 , p. 7038.

14XJ9 TF I-371, Transcript 29 January 2008, pp. 7038-7039 (CS).

232 1Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUC TURE

camps.14840 The Acc used further stated that , foll ow ing discussions within ECOW AS, a

decision was taken to "extract" Bockari e from Sie rra Leone to Libe ria because Bockaries

ideas to challenge Sankoh's leadership over the RUF were thre atening the peace

process.14841 The Acc used therefore stress ed that Bockari e did not arrive in Liberia on his

person al invitati on, 14842 but that his arriva l in Monrovia in Dec emb er 1999 was the result of

. I . h C . f S' 14843many previ ous co nsu tatIOns amongst t e omrrnttee 0 IX .

6560. The Accused furthe r testifi ed that he saw Bockaries belligerency as a threat to the

disarm ament process, which is why the Acc used communicated his co nce rns to President

O basa njo and eventually orga nised a meeting at Roberts Internati onal Airport. 14844 The

Acc used tes tified that this meetin g was held on 2 1 December 1999 and was atte nded by the

Acc used, President Obasa njo, Sa m Bockarie and Foday Sankoh.14845 The Accused stated

that the purp ose of this meet ing, and President Obasanjo bein g there, was to " re inforce some

stro ng medi cin e" , namely that disarm am ent would co ntinue and Bockarie wo uld stay out of

Sierra Leone.14846 According to the Accused, Bockarie was given a choice to eithe r stay in

Liber ia or go to a third co untryl 4847 and the decisions made in this meeting were then

communicated to the UN Spec ial Representative in Liberia.14848

Prosecu tion Exh ibit P-050

656 1. Exhibit P-050 is a message from Sam Bock arie in which he announces that as a

result of the inc reas ing tensi on wit hin the RUF and for the purpose of prev enting more

bloodshed , he has dec ided to leave the movem ent. The message is dated 14 December

1999.14849

Defence Exhibit D-226

Im o Charles Ghankay Tay lor. Transcrip t 17 August 2009 . pp. 26858, 26878.

I~<~I Char les Ghan kay Tay lor, Transcript 17 Augus t 2009, pp. 26859-2686 0.

I ~ K4 2 Charles G hankay Tay lor. Tra nscr ipt 17 August 2009 , p. 26859 .

I~KH Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 17 August 2009 . pp. 26844. 26859 .

14K44 Char les Ghankay Taylor, Transcri pt 17 Augus t 2009, pp. 26853-2685 4, 26859, 26878 .

14W Char les Ghanka y Taylor, Transcrip t 17 August 2009 . pp. 26856-26857.

14K4' Char les Gha nkay Tay lor, Transcript 17 August 2009, pp. 26857, 26859.

14<47 Charle s G hankay Tay lor, Transcri pt 17 August 2009. p. 26858 .

1m. Char les Ghankay Taylor, Transcript 17 August 2009, p. 26854.

1 4 <4 ~ Exhibit P-050 , "Radio Message - 00008764 19 December 1999 Radio Log Book Three", ERJ\I 52.

2322Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6562. Exhibit D-226 co ntai ns a message fro m the Accused. co nveyed to the UN Secretary­

Ge nera l thr ough the UN Special Representative Fe lix Downes-Th om as. The message is

dated 14 Decem ber 1999 and sta tes that the Accused is current ly holding talks in Mo nrovia

with Sa m Bockarie and Foday Sank o h in an effort to ensure that the peace process re mai ns

on course. T he messag e go es on to say that President Obasanjo will t1y to Mo nrovia on 20

Decem ber 1999 to ass ist the Accuse d in th is matter. 14850

Defen ce Exhibit D-227

6563 . Exhibit D-227 is a code cable dated 2 1 Decem ber 1999. in which the United Nations

specia l representati ve in Liberia w rites about a meeting at Roberts International Ai rport

between the Acc use d and President Obasa njo, w here a decision was mad e to temp orarily

relocate Sa m Bock arie and his fo llowers to other co untries:4851 Dowries-Thomas a lso refe rs

to a report by the BBC co rres po ndent in Monrovia , Jonathan Pellele, which sta tes that Sa m

Bockari e also atte nd ed the meeting at RIA and was told that he mu st stay out of Sierra

Leone. According to the BBC rep ort, Bockar ie was given the ch oice to eithe r stay in Liberia. 148,7

or go to any other third co untry. --

Deliberation s

6564. The T ria l Cham ber observe s that it is undi sputed that in Decem ber 1999, Sa m

Bockarie left Sierra Leone and we nt to Libe ria. and that he was told to do so by the Accuse d.

It is the nature of thi s contact be twee n the Accuse d an d Bockari e that is disputed. Ac cording

to the Prosecut ion , this comm un ica tion between the Accused and Bockar ie amo un ted to an

order and shows the existence of superior/subordina te relationship betw een the two of them.

According to the Defen ce, the Acc used rel ied on the a uthority o f ECOWAS w hen

summo ning Boc ka rie to Libe ria and a lso sought the help of President O basanjo in the effort

to deal w ith Sa m Bockarie and ensure that he did not return to Sierra Leone.

Im o Exhibit D-226. " UN Interoffice Memoran dum. to IQAL Rizza. Chef de Ca binet, to Fe lix Downes-Thomas.RSG. Liberia. Message from Presid ent Taylor to Secre tary General. December 14 1999 - DCT 84 (3 Pages)", p.2. ERN 625.

Im l Exhibit D-227. "Code Cable. To I'redergast [sic]. United Nations. New York. From Downes-Thomas, RSG.UNO L. Monrovia. Discussion on the Sierra Leonean Situation. December 21. 1999 - DCT 174". ERN 626.

1" ' 2 Exhibit D-227. "Code Cab le, To Predergast [sic], United Nations. New York, From Downes-Thomas. RSG,UNOL. Monrov ia. Discussion on the Sierra Leonean Situation, December 2 1. 1999 - DCT 174", ERN 626.

Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTU RE

6565 . The Trial Chamber notes that the ques tion of whet her in th is instanc e the contact

between the Acc used and Sam Bockari e satisfies the thresho ld of effective co ntro l is to be

dealt with , in light of the totality of evide nce, when analy sing the criminal responsibility of

the Acc used. At present , the Trial Chamber fi nds that the communicat ion between the

Acc used and Bockari e resulted in the latter leaving Sierra Leone and entering Liberia in

Decem ber 1999. Th is is suppo rted by the testimony of Prosecution witnesses Foday

Lansa na 1 ~ 8 5 3 and TF 1-579, I~ K 54 and the Defence has not disputed it or presented ev ide nce to

the co ntrary.

6566 . The Trial Chamb er further notes that a second, interrelated issue arises from the

evidence presented by the Parties, namely the reasons fo r Bockarie 's stay in Liberia in

Decem ber 1999. The Prosecut ion ' s a llega tion that the Acc used provided a safe haven for

Bockarie and kept this sec ret from President Obasanjo during his meeti ng with him at

Roberts Internat iona l Airport on 2 1 Decemb er 1999 is not supported by the evidence . Both

the Prosecu tion and the Defence have presented ev ide nce to the effec t that towards the end

of 1999 there was a sp lit within the RUF, lead ing to vio lent clashes between RUF figh ters

loyal to Foday Sankoh and RUF fighters loyal to Sam Bockarie.14855 Contrary to the

allega tion that Bockarie sought a safe haven in Libe ria. Prosecuti on Witness TF 1-579

testifi ed that Bockarie declared that he would have kept fighting in Sierra Leone if the

Acc used had not calle d him to Liberia . I~ 8 56 The Tr ial Chambe r reca lls that TFI -579 's

ev idence is to be considered with cau tion and requires corroborat ion.Y' '" Exhibit 0-226 and

Exhibit 0-227 show that the Acc used in fact organ ized a mee ting at Roberts International

Airport between Foday Sa nko h, Sam Bockarie, President Obasanjo and himsel f, as a result

of wh ich a decisio n was made that Bockarie would not return to Sierra Leone until the

disarm ament process had bee n comp leted .l~ 8 5 8

Findings

I.m Foday Lansana, Transcript 22 February 2008 . p. 4574 .

1<"54 TF I-579. Tra nscript 5 November 2008. p. 19859.

1«55 TF 1-516. Transcr ipt 9 Apr il 2008. p. 7038; Perry Karnara, Transcript 4 February 200 8. p. 3080; CharlesGhanka y Taylor. Tran sc ript 17 August 2009 . pp, 26858 . 26878.

1m " TF I-579. Transcript 5 November 2008 . p. 19859.

1' "5) Cred ibility Assessment. TF I-579. paras 339-345.14m Exhib it 0 -227, "Code Cable, To Predergast [sic]. United Nations . New York, From Downes-Thomas, RSG.UNOL. Mon rovia Discussion on the Sierra Leonean Situation. December 2 1, 1999 - DCT 174". ERN 626.

2324Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STR UCTURE

6567 . The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable

doubt that the instruction given by the Accused to Sam Bockarie to leave Sierra Leone for

Liberi a in December 1999 was a 'diplomatic deceit' to cover clandestin e actions.

[ssa Sesay

Submission s of the Parties

6568. The Prosecution submits that after Sankoh's arre st and detention in May 2000 ,

Charles Taylor selected Issa Sesay to take over the leadership of the RUF. In July 2000

Tay lor called Sesay to Monrovia, where he arrived with a dele gation that included

August ine Gbao. Sesay and his dele gation met with Taylor and the other ECO WAS

presidents, including President Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Jammeh of Gambia, President

Eyadema of Togo, and President Konare of Cote d'lvoire .14859

6569. Taylor told them that the RUF needed new leadership because "Sankoh was too old,

stubborn and lazy" , a point that Sesay and Gbao objected to. Taylor's first proposal was for

Sam Bockarie to be reinstated, which the Prosecution submits Tay lor wanted because it

wo uld be better for him to have "as leader the man closest and most useful to him, as well as

most trusted". However when Taylor suggested this Sesay objected, after which Taylor

suggested that Sesay become the leader. Sesay sa id that " he would need to inform the RUF

famil y before accepting the position or appointing someone else " . The meetin g attended by

the presidents clos ed and Tayl or then held a private meeting with just " the delegati on".14860

6570. The Prosecution furt her submits that after these meetings Sesay held a meeting in

Sierra Leone to discuss the propo sal that he take over the RUF leadership. The meeting

attendees agreed in principle that Sesay could be the interim leader whil e Sankoh was still in

detention on the co ndition that Sankoh provided a writt en confirmation of his agreement

with this. On Taylor's invitation, Sesay travelled back to Monrovia where he met with

Taylor. Obasanjo, and Konare at Roberts International Airport .14861 Sesay was give n a letter

signed by Sankoh which stated that " he did not approve of Sesay becoming the leader of the

RUF ; however, Issa Sesay could be the interim leader whil st Foday Sankoh was detained".

1 .~ 5" Prosecution Final Trial Brief: para. 180.1.", 0 Prosecution Final Trial Brief, para. 180.

I ••'d Prosecution Final Trial Briel: para. 181.

2325Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T l8May 2012

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

The letter a lso directed that j ust as Bockarie had taken instructions from Tayl or when

Sankoh had been previ ously detained, Sesay would now take instructions from Taylor.

Sesay then return ed to Sierra Leone where he reconven ed another meeting to have his

appointment as interim leader of the RUF offic ially end orsed.14862

6571. The Defence submits that in the summer of 2000, because Foday Sankoh was in

prison, ECOWAS did not know who was in charge of the RUF. Charles Taylor and his

counterparts on the Committee of Six decided that Taylor should host a mini-summit in

Monrovia "to deal with the issue of Issa Sesay and the RUF so that the Lome Agreement

would not be tom up and so that disarm ament and demobili sati on co uld continue".

Presidents Yahya Jamrn eh, Alpha Konare, Olesegun O basa njo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, Blaise

Co rnpoare and Robert Guie attended the meeting arranged by Taylor which took place on 26

July 2000 at the Executive Mansion in Monrovia. Sesay attended as well with a delegation.

While Kabb ah did not attend because he was not a member of the Committee of Six and was

a party to the co nflic t in Sierra Leone, he was still aware of the meeting and its purp ose. 14863

6572. The Defence further submits that the head s of state as ked Sesay who "was in charge"

of the RUF while Sankoh was being incarcerated by Sierra Leon e, and Sesay informed them

that he was the RUF's most sen ior o fficer. The heads of state suggested that Sesay become

the new leader of the RUF, based on an agreement between Obasanjo and Taylor who were

impressed that Sesay had swiftl y surrendered the peacekeepers to Taylor in May. Sesay

explained that he would need the approval of the War Council and Sankoh, and the head s of

state then " faci litated" the sending of a letter to Sankoh, and gave Sesay time to consult the

War Council. 14864

6573. Then ECO WAS Chairman Presid ent Konare and Obasanjo took the letter to Sierra

Leone where they met with Sankoh and Kabbah. Sankoh "approved" Sesays interim

leadership. Kabbah was kept updated on all developments concerning Sesay ' s app ointment

to interim leader. Sesay then returned to Liberi a in order for his appointment to be formally

confirmed at a meeting that had been arranged on 21 August 2000 in Roberts Internati onal

I .X I>2 Prosecution Final Trial Brief, para. 181.

1.",) Defence Final Trial Brief: paras 686 -687.

I.";. Defen ce Final Trial Brief: para. 688 .

2326Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

Airport in Liberi a. President Taylor. Konare, and Ob asanj o attended the meeting, which also

included Sesay and RUF spokes man Gibril Massaquoi. 14865

657 4. The Defence furth er submits that Sesay confirmed that he and his delegati on, which

included Au gustine Gbao, Jonathan Kposowa, Samuel Jabba, Patrick Binda and Col onel

Lion, were invited to a meeting at RIA with Presidents Taylor . Konare and Obasanjo. In

addition to the aforementioned head s of state and the RUF dele gation, the meeting was also

attended by other ECO WAS representatives and the press. Tayl or and Obasanjo reiterated

their preference that Sesay become the RUF interim leader, and Konare co mplained about

Sankoh and stated that they would no longer work with him. 14866

Evidence

Prosecution Witness TF 1-338

6575 . Witness TF 1-338 testified that Issa Sesay trav elled with a dele gation to Monrovia on

26 July 2000. Upon arrival, which was at about 4.00pm, they went to the sixth floor of the

Executive Mansi on where they met Taylor and four other head s of state. The heads of state

were Nigerian President Obasanjo, Togolese President Eyadema, Gambian President Yahha

Jammeh, and the Malian President Ournar Konare. Taylor had invited them there to

ce lebrate "an occas ion in Liberia" and to change the RUF leadership.14867

6576. After the introductions were made. he heard Obasanjo thank the RUF delegation for

coming and directed them "to continue with the good relationship that they had with Charles

Taylor. . .bec ause Charles Tay lor was doing good things to them and . .. Charles Taylor was

a good leader. If Africa could only get ten of his type then the unity Africa is fighting for,

they will be able to achieve it" . TF 1-338 also testified that he heard Jammeh thank the RUF

delegati on and say that it was "Charles Lord [sic] who had invited them to come and talk to

the RUF delegation for them to have a new leadership so that they will be able to carry on

with the peac e process so peace and stability will return to Sierra Leone". and that "if the

RUF took the initiative to have a young lead er who would be able to carry on with the

process then they would achieve their objective". TF 1-338 testified that both Konare and

1 ~ ",5 Defence Final Trial Brie l: paras 689-69 1.

1 ~ ",,6 Defence Final Tr ial Brief. para. 692 .

1 ~ ",7 TFI-338. Transcript 2 September 2008, pp. 15145-1 5146. The "occasion" was Liberia 's 26 July

2327Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

Eyadema addressed them as well , but they spoke in French and he was unable to understand

what they sa i d. I~ 8lJ8

6577. TF 1-338 testified that Tayl or then addressed them and sa id that because " Foday

Sankoh was too o ld ... too stubborn . .. always being arrested. and . .. a lazy leader" that it was

necessary for the RUF leadership to change. Augustine Gbao and lssa Sesay "emphas ised

that no. that shouldn' t happen, but Charles Taylor spoke with them to listen to what the

leaders were telling them". Taylor first suggested that they "take Mosquito back ", meaning

to send Sam Bockarie back to Sierra Leone as RUF leader, but Sesay said no, and then

Taylor said "Ah, but lssa if yo u would take care as a command er or as a leader" . Sesay sai d

that because the RUF was a family , he would inform the "RUF family" first, and then

respond as to whether he would accept the position or appoint someone else .14869

6578. Later that night. at around 1l.00pm or midn ight. Benjamin Yeaten came to collect

Sesay and others, including Augustine Gbao, to go to meet with Taylor. TF 1-338 testified

that Taylor told Sesay that "he should bear in mind that the people who were talking to him

before then were British elected presidents and he should .. ..not to listen to the Sierra Leone

government because . .. [it] was a British elected government.. .rernote controlled by the

British .. ...And so any time he would be asked [by the United Nations] to disarm he should

ju st say yes, but he should not do it in reality . And in that case he, Charles Taylor, will

continue to assist the RUF as he was doing before". Taylor also told Sesay that he should

not listen to the other heads of state becau se "today ...they will embrace him and the other

day they will just den y him". Taylor then gave Sesay $USD 15,000 and he returned to the

G uesthouse. Sesay then travelled back to Sierra Leone the next day. 27 July 2000 .14870

6579. When Sesay arrived he convened an RUF meeting in Lebanon, Koidu Town, where

he informed his "co lleagues" of Taylor's proposal that he take over the RUF leadership and

sa id that he had "j ust come to ask who should be the leader". They all agreed that Sesay

could take over as leader, but only if they received a message from Sankoh showing his

consent. Sesay informed them that Obasanjo had volunteered to meet with Sankoh to find

independence ce lebration: Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcri pt 19 August 2009. p. 27 159.

Im 8 TFI-338, Tran script 2 September 2008, p. 15147.

1~869 TFI-338, Transcript 2 September 2008. pp. 15147-15148 .

1m" TFI-338. Transcript I September 2008. pp. 15149·15150. TFI-338 ex plained that when Tay lo r spoke aboutthe "British elected presidents" that he was referring to the tour other heads of state.

2328Case No.: SCS L·0 3·0 1-T 18 May 2012

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STR UCTURE

out his view once they gave him a name to propose, how ever they insisted that they needed

I f S k i . . 14871to see a ette r rom , an 0 1 agre eing to It.

6580. Two or three days later, Sesay sa id that Tayl or had invited him to Libe ria wh ere he

landed at the international airp ort (RIA), and where he met Obasa njo and Konare. They were

taken to a wa iting roo m for a meeting where Obasanj o hand ed a letter from Sanko h to

Taylor , who then handed it to Sesay . Sesay ag reed that the signature on the letter belonged

to Sankoh, and then Jabba, Sesay's adjutant, read the letter a loud. TF 1-338 recalls that Jabba

read from that letter that " Issa should now take con trol of the leadership and he should take

instructions, just as Mosquito used to do while [Sankoh] was in jail.. .in Nige ria, that Issa

should now take control and instructi ons from Charles Taylor" .1 .1 872 Ob asanjo then handed

Sesay a parcel and he and Konare left to fly back to their ow n co untries . Sesay then spent

the night in Monr ovia befor e leaving for Sierra Leone the next day.14873

6581. When Ses ay arr ived back in Sie rra Leo ne he convened another meeting in Lebanon,

Koidu Town , where he showed Sankoh ' s letter "to the people and the people were happy

about it becau se lssa had been appo inted the new leader and should carry on with the wo rk

Pa Sankoh was to do". T he letter expl ained that lssa was there to be the " interim chairman",

and "at the sam e time he should take instructions from Charles Taylor just as before as

Mosqui to had been doing and he should take care of the revoluti on , and he should not a llow

b d . I d I ' . d ' " 14 874any 0 y to rnts ea lim Into tsarmarnent".

The Accused

6582. The Accused testifi ed that he invited the ECOWAS heads of state to the Exec utive

Mansion in Monrovia on 26 July 2000, in order to resolve who was in charge of the RUF

while Foday Sa nkoh was inca rce rated so that they co uld " make abso lute ly sure the [Lome]

ag reeme nt is not thr own away". Pre sident Jammah of the Ga mbia, President Konare of Mali,

President Ob asanjo of Nige ria, President Cornpao re of Burkina Faso, and President

14871 TFI -338, Transcr ipt 2 September 2008. p. 15151.

14m TF 1-338. Transcript 2 Septembe r 2008. pp. 15152-15154 .

14m TFJ -338. Transcr ipt 2 September 2008. pp. J5 J54.- J5 J55.

1W4 TF 1-338. Tran script 2 Septembe r 2008 . pp. 15155-15156.

2329Case No.: SCSL -03-01-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHII' AND COMM AND STRUCTURE

Eyadema of Togo attended the meetin g, while Pres ident Robert of Cote d ' Ivo ire did not. At

the meeting there was also an RUF de lega tion which included Generall ssa Sesay.14875

6583 . The Acc used testi fied that "General Sesay made us to understand that he was the

most senior office r, so after we threw it aro und and we said , ' Well, then of co urse you are in

charge and you wi ll be the new leader. Ca n we assu me that?' '' Sesay said no because two

condi tions needed to be met in order for him to take ove r the RUF leadersh ip: I) he would

need the app roval of "what he called a War Council " , and "even mor e importantly, he sa id

that it wo uld take the approval of Foday Sankoh. .. '' . Sesay asked for tim e to consult w ith the

War Counci l and that the presiden ts find a way to get a message to Foday San koh.14876

6584 . About a wee k later, in the fi rst wee k of A ugust 2000 , Presidents Obasanjo and

Konare travelled to Sierra Leone wit h a letter writte n by Issa Sesay to Foday Sanko h,

informing him that the se nior commander and officer of the RUF had met and decided that

Sesay would become the Interi m Leade r until Sankoh's retu m.14877

6585. Pres idents Obasa njo and Konare then met with Tejan Kabbah "and Foday Sankoh

was brought to the meet ing" where Sankoh gave his approval to Sesay being appo inted as

the Interim Leader. Obasanjo and Konare then discussed Sa nkoh's ag ree ment ove r the

phone with Tay lor, and then they arra nged for a meeting to be held three weeks later on 2 1

August 2000 at Roberts International Airport in Liberia, in order to formali se Sesay's

appo intment as Interim Leader. Taylor testified that this meeting was attended by him self,

Obasanjo, Konare, Sesay and Gi bril Massaquoi, who was Sesay's spokespe rso n.14878

6586. The Accused also testi fied abo ut Exhibit D-259, an RUF press communique signed

by Issa Sesay that confirms that this meetin g at RIA occurred as a "sequel to the one held in

Monrov ia on 26 July 2000", and that Sanko h sent a signe d letter thro ugh Konare and

Obasanjo confirming Sesay as the Interim Leader of the RUF .1 4879 Tay lor further testi fied

14875 Charles Ghankay Tay lor, Tra nscript 18 August 2009, p. 2705 3: Transc ript 19 August 2009 , pp. 27 159­27163 . First Tay lor testified that Presid ent Robert of the Cote dIvoire atte nded, but then later testified that hedid not: Charles Ghankay Taylor, Transcript 19 August 2009 , pp. 27161. 27 164.

14. 76 Charles G hankay Taylor. Tra nscript 19 August 2009, pp. 27 16 1-27 165.

14K77 Charles Gh ankay Tay lor, Tra nscrip t 19 August 2009, pp. 27 165-2 7 167.

14m Charles G hankay Tay lor . Transcri pt 19 August 2009. pp. 27 163-2 7 168.

1487" Charles Gh ankay Tay lor. Trans cri pt 19 August 2009. pp. 27 167 -27 17 1: Transcri pt 20 Augu st 2009, pp.27272-272 73 (test ifying that "When it go t down to the major decision, Issa kep t Gi bril Massaq uoi with him");Exhibit D-259, "Press Communique Issued by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) following a mee ting with

2330Case No .: SC SL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTU RE

that President Kabb ah was "fully kept ab reast" of eac h developmen t leadin g to the

. . S I I . L d 14880appointme nt ot esay as t te ntenm ea er.

6587. Th e Accused was quest ioned co nce rning TF I-338's testim ony about the 26 July

200 0 meeting. Taylo r co ntes ted TF 1-338 ' s tes timo ny that the meet ing oc curred on the sixth

floo r of the Executive Ma ns ion, saying that they met in his office on the fourth floor. Taylor

a lso recalled that he rem em bered the RUF de legation be ing represented at the mee ting by

only Sesay and Massaquoi. He also did not recall the presence of Augustine Gbao. Tay lor

a lso ex plained that when TF 1-338 test ified that he had inv ited them there to ce lebrat e an

"occasion", that the witness was referring to the Libe rian Indep endence Day celebrat ions,

but that he had not invited the RUF del egation the re to attend the celebrations, onl y to

d isc uss the RUF leadership issue in the wa ke of Sanko h' s incarcerat ion .14881 T he Acc used

also contes ted TFI -338 's tes timo ny that he referred to Sa nko h as too o ld, stupid and

stubbo rn, testi fying that " I wo uldn't say anyt hing so stupid to Issa. I know the rela tionship

between Issa and Sanko h. Th at alone would have spoi led the whole program" .14882

6588. The Accused furthe r co ntested TF 1-338 's tes timo ny that at that meeting Issa was

ap pointed as the RUF Inter im Lea de r. Taylor testifi ed instead that Ses ay "made it very clea r

in that meeting that he co uld not acce pt the leadersh ip at that part icul ar place and claim that

he was the leader , that he need ed the blessing of the War Co unc il and Sankoh himself.

T hat's why it took almost a month to sett le all of these thin gs" ,14883 Tay lor also test ified that,

contrary to the testi mon y of TF 1-338, he did not suggest send ing Sam Bockarie back as the

leader of the RUF .14884

6589. The Accused also disputed TF I-338 's tes timony that he met with the RUF

delegati on later that night at aro und Il .OOpm or midnight, and that he gave Sesay $US D

15,000. Taylor tes tified instead that he did not meet with them agai n until the next morn ing,

27 July :WOO, when he gave Sesay abo ut $USD 5,000 to 7,000 to sho p tor things they

H.E. A lpha Oumar Konare, Pres ide nt of Mali and Chairman of ECOWAS , H.E. Olu segun Oba sanjo. Presidentof Nigeria. and H.E. Dahkp annah Dr Char les Ghankay Tay lor. President o f Liberi a. 2 1 Augu st Zuun" .

Im o Charles G hankay Tay lor. Tran script 19 August 2009 . p. 27 172.

Iml Cha rles Ghankay Tay lor . Transc ript 19 Augu st 2009 . pp. 27 184-27187, 27 19 1.

14X82 Charles Ghankay Taylor. Tra nscrip t 19 Allgust2009. pp. 27189-27 191.

1m 3 Charles Ghankay Tay lo r. Transcrip t 19 August 2009. pp. 27 191-27 192.

14XX4 Charles G hankay Tay lor, Transcr ipt 19 August 2009. pp. 27 192-27 193.

233 1Case No.: SCSL -03-0 I- T 18 May 20 12

J.

4~25LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

needed like jeans and sneakers before they returned, as was the custom of Afri can heads of

, . . . ,. , d I . " 14885state w len recervm g " Itt e e egations ..

6590. The Ac cused also d isputed the testimony of TF 1-338 that the letter from Sa nko h

authorizing Sesay's leadership al so sa id that Sesay should now take instruction s fro m

Taylor. Taylor test ified that " if the letter had said that, the first thing Obasanjo and Konare

wo uld have done, they wo uld have never brought such nonsense, where Foday Sa nko h rea d

a letter and say from now on take instructions from Charles Tay lor. In fact, knowing

Obasanjo and Konare, they wo uld not have countenanced suc h non sense" . Tay lor further

ex plained that "this letter is wr itten by Foday Sa nkoh in the presen ce of thr ee Pres ide nts.

Tejani Kabbah, O basanjo and A lpha Konare . .. .You know who would have been the fir st to

objec t and yo u wo uld have heard a bout it imm edi atel y . . . .Kabbah wo uld have objected.

Obasanjo wo uld have never co untena nced such. Ne ithe r Kon are" .14886

Defence Witness lssa Ses ay

659 1. Witness lssa Sesay, a senio r RUF co mma nde rl4887 and interim leader of the RUF

fro m 2000 until d isarma ment in 2002,14888 testified that his appo intme nt as Interi m Lead er of

the RUF first came up at a meeting in the end of July 2000, whi ch he was invited to via

rad io co mmunicat ion fro m Charles Tay lor, ac ting on behal f of ECOWAS. Tay lor told him

that he should travel to Mo nrovia w ith so me of his co lleag ues because ECOWAS wa nted to

have a meeting with the RUF. Sesay took w ith a delegation with him. They spent the first

night in Monrovia in the Gu esthou se, and then Joe Tuah ca me and brought Sesay and his

entire delegati on to the Executive Ma ns ion where they met with Tay lor and Presidents

O basanjo, Jarnmeh, Konare, and Eyade ma.14889

6592. Sesay testified that at the meet ing the Heads of State each too k a tum to spea k, a nd

the g ist of their di scussions was that they as ECOWAS leaders, who we re the guaranto rs to

the Lom e Peace Acco rd, had dec ided that they were no longer go ing to wo rk with Sank oh,

becaus e he did not respect anyone and did not want to impl ement the Lome Peace Accord,

I ~ X X 5 Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 19 August 1009. pp. 17 196-17 197, 17 199-27100 .

I< X! 6 Charle s Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 19 August 2009. pp. 17105-271 10.

14XX7 Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 July 2010. pp. 44590-44591. 44596.

14XX8 Issa Sesay. Transcr ipt 5 July 20 10. pp. 43588-43589: Transcr ipt 23 August 2010, p. 46883 .1~,x9 Issa Sesay. Transcript 26 July 20 IO. pp. 44548-44550 .

2332Case No.: SCSL-03-01-T 18 May 2012

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

and that the y, as leaders in the region , wo uld not allow the Lom e Accord to fail . For that

reason, they said they deemed it necessary to change the leadership of Sankoh. Obasanjo

then proposed giving the leadersh ip to Sesay based on his quick resolution of the UNA MS IL

hostage situation, and Taylor ag reed that " ls sa is som ebody who listens . .. .I beli ev e that he

will do the job that we will want him to do". Ob asanjo then said, "Then it is better we give

lssa the lead ership", followed by suppo rt from Eyadema and Konan~ . 1 4 890

6593. Sesay testified that he responded to this proposal by saying :

this leadership that you want to give me now. I will ask o f yo u to giv e me a week so that Iwill go back and consult wi th my fellow RUF peopl e. I sa id because Mr Sankoh wa soperating over a divi ded loyal ty, and I said it would not be good at this poin t, .. . if you mak eme inte rim leader and then I go back to Sierra Leone. then yo u hear that peopl e have startedattacking aga in. o r we start attacking eac h other. . . .what I want yo u to do. and the jo b youwoul d want me to do. it wo uld not be possib le for it to happ en. So I said they sho uld giveme time to go and inform my coll eagu e RUF that thi s is the deci sion of the ECO WASleaders. And . . . number two. we as RUF who were here now. please allow us to write aletter so that yo u will send this letter to Mr Sankoh who is already under the custody of theGovernme nt of Sierra Leone.14K91

Obasanjo obj ected, saying that " lssa if we make you leader, we are the Heads of States of

the reg ion , who e lse will challenge yo ur leadership?" But then Sesay test ified that Eyadema

sa id they should listen to Sesay , and that Ses ay should writ e a letter that the y wo uld take to

Sankoh. 14892

6594. Ses ay testifi ed that Gb ao wrote the letter there in Monrovia, and that the y informed

Sankoh about the decision of ECO WA S co ncern ing his appointment. They then they gave

the letter to Obasanjo, who took it to Freet own with Konare . President Kabbah brought

Sankoh to Lun gi airport. and it was there that Obasanjo and Konare handed the letter over to

him. Sankoh rejected the proposal, saying that he wanted the ECOWAS leaders to ask Mike

Lamin to tak e ove r but both Obasanjo and Konare said no, and that the time for Sankoh to

tell them anyth ing whatsoever has alread y passed. The ECO WAS leaders wanted Issa, so Mr

Sankoh was no longer in a place to tell them who they should appoint. Sesay heard about

Sank oh ' s rea ction from Obasanj o during the next time he met with him at RIA in August

2000. 1489}

14X90 Issa Sesay, Transc ript 26 July 20 10. p. 44 551.

14X91 Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 July 2010, p. 44552.

14X42 lssa Sesay, T ranscript 26 July 20 10. p. 445 52 .

14X"! Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 Jul y 20 10. pp . 44553. 44 557-44558.

23 33Cas e No.: SCSL-03-0 I-T 18May 2012

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6595 . After Sesay had given the letter to Obasanj o and Konare , he and the RUF delegati on

returned to Sierra Leone where he convened a meeting of commanders in Kono and

informed them about what had happened at the Monrovia meeting, and of the deci sion taken

by ECOWAS. During the meetin g so me of them suggested that Mike Lamin or Pa Rogers

should take over as Interim Leader inste ad, but others also supported Sesay , as he was the

one ECOWAS wanted. When the meeting end ed Sesay had the most support, and a week

later he left to return to Monrovia with only Gbao, Jonathan Kposowa, Samuel Jabba,

Patrick PS Binda, and Colonel Lion.I ~ 894

659 6. Sesay testifi ed that after arriving at the Guestho use in Monrovia they were collected

and taken to RIA, where he and the RUF del egation met with Obasanjo, Konare, Taylor,

representatives of the ECOWAS head s of state who could not attend, and the press. At the

meeting Taylor told Sesay about Sankoh ' s rejection of their suggesti on, and said that they

did not accept it. and wanted to know what the outco me of the meeting with Sesay and the

RUF commanders was . Sesay explained that people had suggested him, Mike Lamin and Pa

Rogers. Obasanjo then said they wanted Sesay as RUF Interim Leader and Taylor

concurred . Konare sa id that they had given enou gh time to Sankoh and that they would not

listen to him anymore, and that Sesay should become the leader.14895

65 97 . After that meeting ended , Taylor, Konare, and Obasanj o invited Sesay into a small

confe rence room . They told Sesay that a ll of the ECO WAS leaders, including President

Kabbah, supported Sesay becoming the Interim Leader. They also said that he was a young

man, and sho uld not make them ashamed o f him , and that he sho uld do whatever they told

him to . They gave him instructions, including that he should prepare to work with Sierra

L .. I . h L ' A d 1 ~ 896eo ne 111 Imp ementmg t e ome ccor .

6598. Sesay again testifi ed that he was not appointed Interim Leader by Taylor a lone, and

that it was Obasanjo who first brou ght up the idea of his appointment. l''F" He also testified

that Exhibit 0-259 , an RUF press communique issued on 2 I August 2000 which recounted

the events of the meeting at RIA, was drafted by Gibril Massaquoi , and that although it

appears to be signed by him, he does not remember doing so. Sesay testified that even

I ~ " )~ Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 July 20 10. pp. 44 554-44556; Transcript 2 August 20 10. p. 45268 .

I ~ X 'J; Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 Ju ly 2010 , pp . 44558-44560 .

I ~ ' 'J '' lssa Sesay. Transc ript 26 July 20 10, pp. 44560-4456 1.

2334Cas e No .: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 201 2

J.

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

though the communique stated that the meeting was held in late Au gust it actually took

place on 5 Au gust :2000.14898

659 9. Ses ay testi fied that contrary to the testim ony of TF 1-338, at the Jul y 2000 meeting

with Taylor and the ECOWAS head s of state in Monrovia, he did not object to the proposal

that Foday Sa nko h be replaced as RUF leader. It was only Gb ao who mad e thi s objection.

Sesay also dispu ted the testimony of T F 1-338 that Sam Bockarie was discus sed at that

meeting. Sesay testified that Bockarie.'s nam e "was not even mentioned in the entire

discussion". Ses ay also recalled in relation to this issue that after Bock arie resigned from the

RUF and left to Monrovi a, that Sankoh and Ob asanj o went to Monrovia and "fac ilitated" a

meeting with Bockarie. At the meeting they decided that Bockarie should stay in Monrovia

in order to en sure that he would not obstruct the peac e process in Sierra Leone. 14899

6600. Sesay also disputed the testimony of TF 1-338 in relati on to the letter that Foday

Sa nko h sent to the Au gu st 2000 meeting at RIA , acceding to Ses ay 's interim leadership.

Sesay testified that he did not hand the letter to Jabba, as TF 1-3 38 testified, but rath er to

Kposowa, wh o read through it and sa id that Sankoh had written that he app roved of

ECOWAS's proposal that Sesay become the interim leader. Sesay also testifi ed that he read

Sankoh's letter himself and that it did not instruct him to take orders from Tayl or. Sesay

further expla ined that when Kabbah testified at Sesays trial , he recounted that at the

meeting in Freetown with Sanko h, Kabbah first wrote the letter and asked Sa nkoh to sign it.

Sankoh refused and said that he needed to write it so that his men would recognize his

hand writing, which he did . The letter was then sent to RIA through Obasanjo. Sesay also

testified that he believed it was imp ossibl e that Sanko h would have been a llowed to write

that Sesay should take instruction from Tay lor. 14900

660 I. When questioned as to whom he was supposed to take instruction from as RUF

Interim Lead er , Ses ay testified that in that position he was not required to take instruction

from anyone, just as Fod ay Sankoh as leader did not take instruction s from anyo ne. Sesay

further testified that at the meeting at RIA the ECO WAS leaders did not tell him to take

1. ~· ' 7 Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 July 20 10, p. 44562.

I • • n Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 July 20 10. pp. 44567-44568.

I.'" lssa Sesay. Transcript 2 August 20 10. pp. 45256-45258.

I • • on Issa Sesay, T ranscript 2 August 20 IO. pp . 45267-45270.

2335Case No.: SCSL-03-0I-T 18 May 2012

J.

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

instruct ion from anyo ne, they only adv ised him to work with the Govemment of Sierra

Leone and the Uni ted Nations missi on in Sierra Leone.1490 1

6602. Ses ay was a lso questioned concerning the testimony of TF 1-338 that after the

August 2000 meeting at RIA Ses ay retumed to Lebanon, Koidu Town and showed the

people the letter from Sankoh which stated that Sesay was to be the inter im leader and that

he should take instructions from Charles Taylor and not a llow anyone to lead him into

disarmament. Ses ay testified that if these were the contents of the letter, Presidents Obasanjo

and Konare would not have deliver ed it him , and President Kabbah would not have allow ed

his colleagues to bring a letter to Sesay instructing him not to disarm, especially as the

disarmament was what all of the ECOWAS leaders were disturbing " their lives and their

. lk b " 14902reigns.. .to ta a out .

6603 . Sesay a lso disputed the testimony of the Accused that Gibril Massaquoi was present

at the August 2000 meeting at RIA, testifyin g instead that Massaquoi was not there.14903

Defence Exhibit 0-258

6604. Exhibit 0 -258 is a letter that Charles Taylor testified was written by Issa Sesay to the

"Papay", Fod ay Sankoh, dated I August 2000. 14904 It states in pertinent part that a ll of the

senior comma nders and o ffice rs of the RUFP had met and come to a dec ision "that Brigadier

General Issa Sesay will head the RUFP as interim leader until yo ur retum .. ..We would like

to inform you about such development and your advice and instruction, which will be

carried out fully through the high co mmand o f the RUFP ". Th e letter was signed " Yo ur

children of the rev olution, signed on behalf of the high command of the RUFP", with the

d . . " . b I he si 14905wor "intrem wntten e ow t e stgnature.

Dcfence Exhibit 0-259

uvo r Issa Sesay, Transcript 2 August 20 I0, pp. 45271-45 272 .

1~'I02 Issa Sesay. Transcript 2 August 20 10, pp. 45272 -45 274.

l~')I) ) Issa Sesay, Transcript 2 August 2010. p. 45271.

l~" O ~ Taylor testified that between the mar king of the words "DECISION" o n the letter is the signature o f IssaSesay , and that he knows this because he was told that Issa signed the letter as Interim Leader. The TrialCham ber notes that it is unable to see whose signature is on the letter that was admitted into evide nce. CharlesGhankay Tay lor, Transcri pt 19 August 2009 , pp. 27 165-27 167: Exhibit 0-258. "H andwri tten Letter from lssaSesay to Foday Sankoh. August I 2000 ",

H')(i ) Cha rles Ghankay Tay lor. Transcript 19 August 2009. pp. 27 165-27 167: Exhibit 0-258. " Handwritten Letterfrom Issa Sesay to Foday Sankoh. I August 200 0" .

2336Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 2012

4233 0LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

6605. Exh ibit 0-259 is an RUF press communique issued fo llowing a meeting on 21

August 2000 between the RUF High Command and Presidents Konare, Obasanjo, and

Tay lor. It states in pertinent part that the " meeting was a seque l to the one held in Mon rovia

on 26 July 2000 and the High command's letter dated 0 I August 2000 to Chairman Foday

Sa nkoh on development s connecte d with the peace process in Sierra Leone. His Exce llency

President Obasanj o brought a hand written and signed repl y to our letter addressed to

Chairman Fod ay Sankoh . We are co nvinced that the letter, whi ch co nfirmed Brig. Gen. Issa

Sessay [sic] as the Interim Leader of the RUF. is a uthe ntic" .14906

Defence Exhibit 0-263

6606. Exhibit 0-263 is a lett er from Moni e R. Captan, the Lib erian Foreign Mini ster. to

United States Under Secretary of State Thomas P. Pickering, dated 17 August 2000. In this

lett er, Ca pta n informed Pick ering that " in keeping w ith con su ltat ion s held among the

C hairman of ECO WAS, the C hairman of the OA U, the Presid ent s of Lib eria, Ni geri a, and

the Gambia in Mon rovia on 26 July 2000; a new interlocut or and lead er of the RUF has been

proposed by the RUF Co mmand throu gh letter to the C ha irma n of ECO WAS" .l4'107

Defence Exhibit 0-264

6607. Exhibit 0-264 is a letter from C har les Tay lor to President William C linton. dated 23

August 2000, in which he informs C linton that " the RU F has announced a new leadership

acceptable to ECOWAS . . .", 14908

Deliberation s

6608. The Tri al Chamber observes that the evidence pre sented by both the Pro secution and

Defen ce conce rning the appo intment of Issa Ses ay as Interim Leader of the RUF in August

2000 is substantially similar, even if there is disagreement over so me points. Spec ifica lly.

eac h of the w itnesses testified that: 1) a meeting occurred on 26 July 2000 at the Executive

1. 'HIt, Exhibit D-259 . " Press Communique Issued by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) followi ng a mee tingwith '-I.E. Alpha Oumar Konare , Presiden t o f Mali and Chairman of ECOWAS. H.E. O lusegun Obasa njo,Presiden t of Nigeria, and H.E. Dahkpann ah Dr Charles Ghankay Tay lor, Presiden t of Liberia. 2 1 August 2000".

1. <107 Exh ibit D-263 "Letter from President of Liberia. Charl es Gh ank ay Taylor to Thom as Pic kering, UnderSecretary of State. Department o f State. Washington. 17 August 2000". p. 2.

1.",8 Exhibit D-264. "Lett er to the Preside nt of the United Sta tes . H.E. William Jefferson Clinton. from thePreside nt o f Liberia. Dahkpan nah. Dr Charles Ghankay Taylor. 23 August 2000 ". p. 2.

233 7Case No.: SCS L-03 -0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

Mansion in Monrovi a between the Hea ds of State o f ECOW AS and an RUF de legation led

by Issa Sesay , where Taylor was eithe r in ag ree me nt with the other Heads of State that

Sesay should become the Interim Leade r, or was himsel f responsibl e for first suggest ing

it;14909 2) Sesay would not accept the appointment with ou t it first bein g approved by the

RUF, includ ing Foday Sa nkoh; 149

lO 3) Sesay held a meeting with the RUF co mmanders to

d isc uss the appoi ntme nt of a new interim leader ;1491 1 4) a message was brought to Foday

Sa nko h by Pres ident Obasanjo from Sesay asking for his co nse nt;14912 and 5) a foll ow-up

meeting too k place at RIA in Liberia in August 2000, where Sesay was confi rmed as the

RUF Interim Leade r. 14913

6609. The T rial Chamber will focu s its deli beration s on three points in dispute: I) whether

Sesay disagreed and refused to co mply with a recommendat ion from the Accused that

Bocka rie be appointed as Interim Leader o f the RUF; 2) the ex ten t of the involvem ent of the

othe r ECOWAS Head s of State in appointing Sesay to Interim Leader of the RUF; and 3)

wheth er Sanko h instructed that Sesay take instructions from the Acc used.

66 10. Co ncern ing the first point in dispute , the ev idence that the Prosecuti on presented to

support the propositi on that at the 26 July 2000 meetin g, Tay lor recommended that Bockarie

be appo inted as the RUF Interim Leader, and that Sesay rejected this proposal , is the

H ""') TF I-338, Transcript 2 Septembe r 2008. pp. 15147-15148: Charles Ghankay Tay lor. Transcript 19 August2009. pp. 27 161-27 165: Issa Sesay. Transcript 26 July 2010, p. 4455 1: Exhibit D-263 " Letter from President ofLibe ria Charles Ghankay Taylor to Thomas Pickering . Under Secre tary of State. Department of State.Was hington. 17 August 2000", p. 2:

im o TF I-338. Transcript 2 September 2008 . pp. 15147-15148: Cha rles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 19 August2009. pp. 27 161-271 65: Issa Sesay, Transcript 26 July 20 IO. p. 44552.

H ')11 TF 1-338. Transcript 2 September 2008. p. 15151: Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 19 August 2009. pp.27165-27167: Issa Sesay. Transcript 26 July 20 IO. pp. 44554 -445 56: Exhibit D-258. "Handwritten Letter fromIssa Sesay to Foday Sankoh. August I 2000" .

1 ~ " 1 2 TF 1-338. Transcript 2 September 2008, p. 1515 1: Charles Ghankay Taylor, Transcri pt 19 August 2009. pp.27165-27 167: lssa Sesay. Tran sc ript 26 July 20 10, pp. 4455 3. 44557-44558: Exhibit D-258, "H andw ritten Letterfrom Issa Sesay to Foday Sankoh. August I 2000 :" Exhibi t D-259, " Press Com munique Issued by theRevolut ionary United Front (RUF) fo llowi ng a meeting with H.E. Alpha Oumar Konare . Presid ent of Mali andChairman of ECO WAS, I·I.E. Olusegun Obasanjo. President of Nigeria, and H.E. Dahkpannah Dr CharlesGhankay Taylor , Pres ident of Liberia, August 21 2000:" Exhibit D-263. " Letter from President of LiberiaCharles Ghankay Taylo r to Thom as Pickering. Under Sec retary of State. Department of State. Washington.August 17 2000". p. 2.

I~YIJ TF I-338, Transcript 2 September 2008. pp. 15152-15154: Charles Ghank ay Tay lor. Transcript 19 August2009. pp. 27 163-27 168: lssa Sesay, Transcr ipt 26 Ju ly 20 IO. pp. 44558- 44560 : Exhibit D-259. "PressCommunique Issued by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) following a mee ting with H.E. Alpha OumarKonare. President of Mali and Chairman of ECO WAS. H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo , President of Nige ria and I·I.E.Dahkpannah Dr Charles Ghankay Taylor. President of Liberia. Augus t 2 1 2000". See also Exhibit D-264. "Letterto the President of the United States. H.E. William Jefferson Clinton. from the President of Liberia. Dahk pannah.Dr Charles Ghan kay Taylor. August 23 2000", p. 2.

2338Case No.: SCSL-03-01-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

testim ony o f TF I_338.1 4914 The Accused denied in his testim ony that he made this

recommendation.U''" and Sesay also denied that Bockarie 's name came up at the meeting,

explaining that at that time Bockarie was in Liberia because Obasanjo and Sankoh wanted to

prevent him from derailing the peace process in Sierra Leone.1491 6 The Tria l Chamber a lso

recalls its finding that in December 1999 Sam Bockarie left Sierra Leone to relocate to

Monrovia at the instruction o f the Accused, who made great efforts in conjunction with

other ECOWAS members to remove him from Sierra Leone. 14'11 7 While the Tria l Chamber

also recalls its finding that TF 1-338 is a genera lly credible witness,1491 8 the c ircums tances in

this context make it unlikely. in the Trial Chamber 's view, that the Accused would have

sugges ted Bockarie for leadership of the RUF.

66 I I. Conc eming the second point in dispute. the testim ony of the witnesses indicates that

the other ECOWA S Heads of State were as involved as Taylor, if not more so, in selecting

Sesay to take over as Interim Leader of the RUF at the 26 July 2000 meeting. TFI-338

testified that at the 26 July 2000 meeting Presid ent Jammeh sa id that it was Tay lor who had

invited the ECO WAS Heads of State to come together with the RUF delegation to discuss

the RUF taking on new leadership.1491 9 Thi s sugg es ts that it was a deci sion that was

deliberated on by the attendees at the meeting, and not a unilateral decision by Taylor. The

Accused testified that at the 26 July 2000 meeting he and the ECO WAS leaders "threw

around" the idea that Sesay should be the RUF Interim Leader because Sesay was at that

time the most senior officer of the RUF. 14920 The Accused ' s testimony therefore also does

not support the propositi on that the sugges tion of Sesay was a unilateral proposal that he

made by himself.

6612. According to Sesay's testimony , Obasanjo first prop osed that Sesay should take over

the leadership based on his quick resolution of the UNA MS IL hostage situation, and Taylor

then agreed, followed by Eyadema and Konan~.1 4921 Sesay further testified that when

Obasanjo and Konare took the letter to Sankoh informing him about the decision of

14"1 4 T FI-338, Transcript 2 Se ptember 2008. pp. 1514 7-15148 .

14') 1! Charles Ghankay Taylor, Transcript 19 Augu st 2009. pp. 27163-271 68.

14'!I (, lssa Sesay, Transcript 2 August 20 10, pp. 45256-4 5258.

14'1'7 Leadership and Co mmand Structure: Acc used 's Relationship with the RUF/AFRC. Sam Bocka rie.

14' II K Credibility Assessment, TFl -338, paras 3 18-319.

14 <11 0 TFI-338, Transcript 2 Sept emb er 2008. p. 15147.

14" 2<1 Charles Ghankay Taylor , Transcri pt 19 August 2009 , pp. 17 161-27 162.

2339Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE4~33

ECOWAS co nfirming his ap pointme nt, Sanko h sa id he wanted Mike Lam in as lead er

instead. How ever, Obasanjo and Eyadema told Sankoh that he no longer could choose

whom to appoint. 14922 The Trial Chamber notes that President Obasanjo and Konare both

met with Sankoh in Freetow n, without the Accused presen t, indicating that th is process was

undertaken by ECO WAS Heads of Sta te co llec tively, rath er than by the Accused

un ilaterally . Tay lor then told Sesay at the meet ing in August 2000 at RIA that Sanko h had

rejected ECO WAS's suggestion, but that they were disregar ding it, and asked for the

outco me of the meetin g that Sesay held with the RUF comm and ers. When Sesay told

Tay lor, Obasanjo and Konare that the RUF comman ders had suggested him , Mike Lamin

and Pa Rogers, Obasanj o respond ed that he wanted Sesay as Interim Lead er followed by

co ncurrences from Taylor and Konare.14923 Acco rding to Sesay, the three leaders then

invited him into a sma ll conference room whe re they told him that his leadersh ip had the

support of all of the ECOW AS lead ers, including President Kabbah . I492 4 The Trial Chamber

finds that taken together , the evi dence of TF 1-338, the Acc used and Issa Sesay shows that

Taylor d id not uni laterally se lect Sesay to be the Interim Leade r of the RUF in July and

A ugust 2000, and that the ECOWAS leaders appea red to in fact have a ll had a say in the

matt er.

66 13. Fina lly, the third point in dispute is whether in acceding to the appointme nt of Issa

Sesayas RUF Interim Lea der, Foday Sankoh also instruct ed Sesay to take instru ct ions from

Tay lor just as Sam Bock arie had when he was RU F Inter im Leader. The Prosecut ion rel ies

on the testim ony of TF 1-338, whose bas is of know ledge was his recollection of the reading

ofSankoh's letter by Sesay's adj utant at the RIA meeting in August 2000. 1492 5 The Acc used

disputed TF 1-338 ' s test imony on thi s point, and testifi ed that as Sankoh wrote the letter in

question in front o f Obasanj o, Konare, and Kabb ah, they wo uld have objected to him

including such an instruct ion. I492 6 Sesay also d isputed TF 1-338 's ev idence on this po int.

arguing that Obasanjo, Konare and Kabb ah would not have allowed a letter that includ ed an

1-1921 Issa Sesay. Transcrip t 26 July 20 10. p. 4455!.

I-I°n Issa Sesay. Transcript 26 Ju ly 20 IO. pp. 4455 3.4455 7-44558 .

1-I ')~ 3 lssa Sesay. Transc ript 26 Ju ly 2010 . pp. 44558-44560.

Im-l Issa Sesay, Transcr ipt 26 July 20 I 0, pp. 44560-4456 1.

Im 5 TF 1-338, Transcript 2 Sep tembe r 2008. pp. 15155-15156.

1m ,. Charles Ghankay Taylor. Transcript 19 August 2009. pp. 27205-272 10.

2340Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

instruction to follow Taylor ' s instru ctions, as well as the instruction not to disarm, to reach

Sesay.

66 14. Whil e Sesay did testify that Taylor, Konare and Ob asanjo told him that as he was a

young man, that he shou ld not make them ashamed and that he should do whatever they told

him to, 14927 he also testified his understanding of his position was that he was not required to

take instructions from anyo ne else and that the ECO WAS leaders had not told him to take

instructions from anyone, but advi sed him to cooperate with the Government of Sierra

Leo ne and the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone.l4'l28 Th e Trial Chamber recall s that

President Kabbah was present when the letter was turned ove r by Sanko h, as well as

Presidents Ob asanj o and Konare . The Tri al Chamber find s the argument that Kabbah and the

other Head s of State wo uld not have allowed such a direction to be included in the letter

from Sankoh to be compelling, particularly g iven Sankoh' s weakened position with the

ECO WAS leaders, who were willing to replace him as RUF leader with out his input. For

these reasons the Trial Chamber does not find this allegati on to be suffic iently supported by

the evidence for a finding beyond reasonable doubt.

Findings

6615. The Trial Chamber find s that the Prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable

doubt that at a meetin g that took place in the Executive Mansion in Monrovia on 26 July

2000 with ECOWAS Heads of State present, the Accu sed proposed that Sam Bockarie take

over as Interim Leader of the RUF and Issa Sesay rejected this proposal.

66 16. The Trial Chamber finds that the Pro secuti on fai led to prove beyond reasonable

doubt that when Issa Sesay was appointed Interim Leader of the RUF, it was with the

dir ecti on from Sanko h that he should take instru ction from the Accused .

Operations out side Sierra Leone

!.!ill.- RUF/AFRC against Mosquito Spray/LURD in Liberia, 1999

Submissions of the Parties

14'12 7 lssa Sesay. Transc ript 26 July 20 I0, pp. 44560-44561.

1"'28 Issa Sesay , T ranscript 2 A ugust 20 IO. pp. 45271-45272.

2341Ca se No.: SCSL-03 -0 I-T

.,;; :r'

/~>

18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTU RE

661 7. The Prosecution alleges that throughout the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone,. 149H )

Tay lor mad e free use of his proxy forces, the RUF and later the AFRC/R UF. - More

specifically, the Prosecution submits that, in 1999 and onwards, Taylor made free use of

AF RC/RUF forces to as sist him in his tight aga inst Mosquito Spray and LURD forces that

attacked his forces. Bockarie ob eyed Taylor's ord er to send Tayl or's proxy forces,

A FRC/RUF fighters, to Liberia to reinforce Tay lor's ow n Liberian subordinates to repel

these attacks , During the fighting, the A FRC/RUF operated under the overall command of

T I ' Liberi b di 14930ay ors I enan su or mates. .

6618. The Defence submits that the Prosecution' s evidence is highly suspect and

contested .14')}I Most imp ortantly, however, even ass uming arguendo that these allegati ons

were true, the Defence submits that the fact that orders were all egedly issued and followed

does not, ipso/ acto, establish effective control in this case where the Accu sed was a civilian

leader in a different co untry a ltoge ther. In those instances, as es tablished in international

j ur isprudence, traditi onal indicia of effective control are not enough. There is a need for

objective evidence that the Acc used had the material ability to exercise effecti ve control. 14932

Evidence

Prosecution Witness TFI-375

661 9. Witn ess TF I-375, an RU F tighter,1 4933 testified that during the rainy season of 1999,

Superman told him to go to Buedu with other RU F and AFRC fighters to take instructions

fro m Bockarie about cross ing the Liberian border in order to help the Liberian Government.

wh o were having problems there. Whe n the RUF /A FRC troops arrived in Buedu, Sam

Bockarie called a muster parade of around 400-500 people and told them to cross over to

Foya in order to repel Mosquito Spray' s troops , which were attacking the AFL (Armed

Forces of Liberia) from Guinea. Aft er the muster parade, Bockarie sent these forces to Foya

under the co mmand of CO Eagle. The gro up was well-armed with AK-47s, RPG s, GMG

and some 60 millimetre mort ar and other weapo ns. When they arrived in Foya, the AFL

I m 4 Prosecuti on Final Tr ial Brief para. 383.

Im o Prosecut ion Final Tr ial Brief paras 3 1, 385-387; See also para. 320.

1 ~ 4~ 1 Defe nce Fina l Trial Brief para. 1293.

1m 2 Defence Final Trial Brief para. 1294

1~'l)3 TFI -375. Transcri pt 23 June 2008, p. 12485.

2342Case No.: SCSL-03-0 I-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

so ld iers under the command of Christopher Varm oh , Liberi an Mosquito, started

. bilati 14934Ju I aung.

6620. TF 1-37 5 testi fied that the next day, Benjamin Yea ten arrived in a helicopter with

Oopoe Menkarzon and so me ot her Spec ial Fo rces . Yeaten also ca lled a muster parade dur ing

which he ex pla ined that the AFL and the RUF/AFRC should fight together to repel

Mosquito Spray ' s forces since they were "all figh ting for the same goal".' 49JS

662 1. T F I-375 stated that after the parade, Ch ristopher Varmo h, CO Eag le, Benjamin

Yea ten, Oopoe Menkarzon , Co lone l Sheriff fro m S ierra Leo ne, and other senior

comma nders planned the attac k agains t Mosquito Spray's for ces. The AF L, RUF and AF RC

forces attac ked LU RO in Kolahun and pushed them from Vo injama to G uinea. 14936 After

LURO was pushed out of Liberia, the AFL depl oyed at the border, while TF 1-375 and the

RUF forces retreated to Vo injama . TF I-375 testified that during the operation, the RUF

forces looted NGO cars. food. medicine and oth er items. which the commanders used to

enter into Sie rra Leone. The cars were mark ed with UN OP, UN ICEF and di fferent NGOs. 14937signs.

6622 . TF 1-375 testifi ed that at the time they moved to Liberia, CO Eag le was the overall

boss of the RUF and A FRC combined forces but that. while in Liberia, Ch ristopher Varrnoh,

an AFL Commander. was the overall commande r of the operation again st Mosquito Spray.

TFI -3 75 stated that Va rmoh rep orted sometimes to Sam Bock arie or to the army

I d b I. . 14938

lea quarters a out t ie ongoing operation.

Prosecution Witn ess A bu Keit a

6623 . Witness Abu Keit a, a forme r deputy chief of staff and commande r of ULi MO-K who

later became commander of the Scorpi on Unit,1 4939 testified that he part icipated in several

I"'>H TF I-375. Transcri pt 24 June 200 8, pp. 1261 7-12623; Transc ript 22 Augu st 2008. p. 14324; T ransc ript 27A ugust 2008 , p. 14742.

1m , Tf l-375. Transcri pt 24 Ju ne 2008 . pp. 1261 7-12620.

1" '1) 6 TF I-375. Transc ript 24 Jun e 2008 , p. 12622.

1""37 TF I-375. Transcript 24 June 2008. p. 12623.

I"" ) X TF I-375 . Transcript 24 June 2008 . p. 12622.

1m " Abu Ke ita, Transcr ipt 22 January 200 8. pp, 1953-1 954; Transc ript 23 January 200 8. pp. 1970. 2000;Transc ript 24 January 2008 . pp. 2 110. 2 145.

2343Case No.: SCSL-0 3-0 1-T 18 May 20 12

LEADERSHIP AND COMMAND STRUC TU RE

RUF operations outside of Sierra Leone.I ~ 940 The first one, "O peration Mosquito Spray"

took place in Liberia in August 1999, when the LURD's leader called "Mosquito Spray" and

his troops attacked AFL forces in Foya and Voinja ma, Liberia in order to remove Taylo r

from power. Keita testified that Benjamin Yeaten instructed Sam Bockarie to join the AFL,

the Liberian police and the ATU, Taylor's palace guard, in attacking LURD' s forces

invading Liberia. Issa Sesay and Morris Kallon also participated in the RUF effort. Keita

testified that the AFLIRUF forces were successful and were able to repel the LURD from

Kolahun and Voinjama.14941During the attack aga inst Mosquito Spray, the RUF used Small

B U · 1~ 9.J2oys ruts.

6624. Keita stated that the overall commander of the operation on the field was Benjamin

Yeaten,14 9~ 3 who provided the ammunition for the RUF' s operations against the LURD in

Liberia and Guinea.I~9H After the attack, Yeaten, Bockarie and the Liberian Defence

Minister Daniel Chea flew by helicopter from Foya to Monrovia. l~ 94 5

Prosecution Witness Karrnoh Kanneh

6625 . Witness Karmoh Kanneh, a senior commander in the RUF, I ~94 6 testified that in

MarchiApril 1998, Bockarie called Kanneh to Buedu and said that Taylor told him that

ULIMO and LURD forces had invaded Lofa County. Sam Bockarie instructed Kanneh to

gather RUF forces and to attack LURD in Lofa County. Bockarie asked Issa Sesay and

Morris Kallon to do the same in Kono . l ~ 94 7

6626 . Following Bockaries instructions, Kanneh brought a platoon of 62 men to Buedu

where they met other troops. There the troops were divided into two groups and instructed to

attack from two flanks. Sam Bockarie and Kanneh attacked LURD forces in Foya town

while other troops attacked them in Vahun . The attack was successful, forcing the LURD

forces to retreat to Kolahun and Voinjama. After conquering Voinja ma, Kanneh testified

Im lJ Abu Keita, Transc ript 23 January 2008, p. 2045.

Iml Abu Keita. Transc ript 23 January 2008. pp. 2045-2048: Tra nscript 24 January 2008. p. 2 139.

,"9~ 2 Ab u Keita.. Transcript 23 January 2008. p. 2058.

I ~<)~ ) Abu Keita, Transcr ipt 23 January 2008. p. 2048 .

1~<J4~ Abu Keita, Tra nsc ript 23 January 2008. p. 2055.

1m; Ab u Keita.. Transc ript 23 Janu ary 2008. p. 2055.

I~<)~(, Kann oh Kanneh, Transcript 8 May 2008, p. 9390.

1~<)~ 7 Karmoh Kannel], Tran scrip t 9 May 2008. pp. 9458-9459.

2344Case No.: SCSL-03-0 1-T 18 May 201 2

LEADERSHIP AND CO MMAND ST R UCTURE

that the RUF troop s recei ved an orde r fro m Benj am in Yeaten to pursue LURD to Gu inea.

According to Yeaton' s ord er. Kanneh and his men chased LU RD forces to Bayal o in

G uinea. While there. Yeaten orde red Kanneh and his men to burn the ent ire town. A fter

burning Bayolo, Kanneh and his men retreated to Foya. Liberian s troops remained in

F 1494Soya.

6627. Kanneh testi fied that he. Bockari e and Yeaten took a heli copter in Foya to Monrovia.

Whil e in Monrovia, Kanneh and Bockar ie lodged at Yeaten' s place, White Flower, wher e

they spent approxi ma tely three days.1494'1 While there, Bockar ie told Kanneh that he was

goi ng to see Tay lor wi th Yeate n. Kanneh did not go but when he came back. Bock ar ie told

him that du ring the meet ing Tay lor promised them a "morale booster" and some

ammu nition. T he day they left Mo nrovia. Kanneh saw A K rounds and some RPG roc kets a t

Taylor's hou se. Kan neh also sa w a bag of money that Tay lor gave to Bockari e to than k R UF

forces for he lping him c lea r the LURD forces fro m Lofa County. Su bseq uent ly. Kanneh and

Bockarie took the sa me hel icopter bac k to Foya where they met Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon

and other RUF officers.1495o RUF offi cers decided to use the money to buy dru gs for the

wo unded so ld iers. The ammunition was to be brou ght back to the RUF zo ne a long wi th a

large cac he of ammunition captured during the Vo injama attac k to be used in the war and

di st ributed to various R UF co mmanders, includ ing Kannoh Kanneh. 14951

Prosecution Witness T F 1-338

6628. Witness T F 1-338. an RUF mem ber .1 4952 test ified that in 1999, he was sent by

Bockarie to meet Foday Sanko h, wh o was returning from the Lom e Peace Acco rd to

Mo nrovia. Whi le in Monrovia, TF 1-338 atte nded a meeting held at the sixt h floor of the

Executive Man sion , togeth er with Tay lor, Sa nko h and Bockar ie. During the meeting Tay lor

thanked Bockar ie for "mainta ining th e RUF" while Foday Sanko h was away, and for

1m . Karmoh Kanneh , Transcr ipt 9 May 2008. pp. 9459-946 1.

1·1'1" ) Karmoh Kanneh . Transcript 9 May 2008. pp. 946 1-9463 ; Transcript 13 May 2008, pp. 964 1-9645.

I' ~ ' O Karmoh Kanne h, Transcript 9 May 2008. pp. 9463 -946 7.

IH 5 1 Kan noh Kanneh, Transcript 9 May 2008. pp. 9467-9469: Transcript 13 May 2008. pp. 9649-9655 .

I '~ j l TF 1-338. Trans cri pt 1 Septem ber 2008 . pp. 15085-15086.

2345Case No.: SCSL -03-0 1-T 18 May 20 12