Issay Sesay returned to the witness box on Monday and told the Special Court of Sierra Leone that he was not appointed head of the RUF by Mr. Taylor alone but instead he was appointed after a series of discussions held by West African Leaders that merely included Mr. Taylor. Mr Sesay denied the prosecution claims that Mr. Taylor appointed him leader of the RUF in May 2000. Lead defense counsel Mr. Courtenay Griffiths asked the witness, “were you appointed leader of the RUF by Charles Taylor alone?” Mr Sesay replied “No. In fact, it was Obasanjo who brought about the idea.”
The witness told the court that West African leaders including former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, Malian president Alpha Oumar Konare, Togolese president Gnassingbe Eyadema, Gambian president Yayah Jammeh and Mr. Taylor were struggling to work with the then RUF leader Foday Sankoh following the Lome Peace Accord.
Mr. Sesay explained that “during that meeting, the Heads of States spoke one after another but the main thrust of their discussion was that they were the moral guarantors of the Lome Peace Accord and that they were no longer able to work with Foday Sankoh.”
Mr Sesay then explained how president Obasanjo suggested the change of command.
“President Obasanjo asked Mr. Taylor that the time you were negotiating the release of the peacekeepers, ‘who did you speak with?’ and Mr. Taylor said it was this young man sitting here. And Obasanjo said ‘well it seems like Issa is someone who listens to people so do you think we should give him the leadership?’ and Mr. Taylor said ‘yes, Issa is a man that listens to people’.” Mr Sesay testified that the other leaders at the meeting agreed to the idea that he ought to be made leader of the RUF.
Mr. Sesay told the court that he wanted Mr. Sankoh to be consulted before anything was done. However, although Mr. Sankoh wanted Mike Lamin to be given the RUF leadership, the West African leaders were adamant that they wished to work with Mr. Sesay.
A second meeting was held at the Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, where Mr Sesay was informed of the support he had from other West African Leaders (including Sierra Leone’s president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah) and that he was to become leader of the RUF. Mr Sesay was then flown back the following day to Sierra Leone via the Liberian town of Foya. Mr Sesay denied transporting arms and ammunition for Mr. Taylor to Foya.
The Special Court also postponed Namoi Campbell’s testimony after prosecution counsel requested that the supermodel will appear a week later on the 5th of August. The presiding judge Justice Sebutinde, allowing the request, said “we can only say that the leave is granted and the date is postponed accordingly for her appearance, with the hope that it would not be postponed yet again.”
Tuesday’s proceedings focused upon statements made by Ambassador Oluyemi Adenji, a former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, and the former Force Commander of UN peacekeepers in Sierra Leone, General Daniel Opande. Mr Griffiths, quoting Ambassador Adeneji said: “ECOWAS was unequivocal in support of Sesay and were prepared to work with Sesay alone.” “…It was agreed that Sankoh was no longer a reliable point person for peace and that ECOWAS should identify a reliable commander in the RUF.” “…Sankoh remained uncommitted to the peace process…Sankoh made quick promises to the resolution of the crisis but did not keep them.” However, Ambassador Adeneji’s statement acknowledged that he could not “remember the details of Sesay’s appointment as leader of the RUF.” Ambassador Adeneji’s statement also recounted of how former Sierra Leonean president Kabbah had heaped praise upon Issa Sesay during his defense trial noting that “Issa Sesay made huge contributions in bringing to an end in 2001 the country’s civil war” and that he “proved to be credible and made a huge contribution to the disarmament process.”
General Opande statements, supporting Mr. Sesay’s testimony, explained that the West African leaders were looking for a reliable person in the RUF that they would deal with because “Mr. Sankoh was no longer seen as a reliable leader for peace” and as a result ECOWAS “began to look among the RUF for another leader.”
General Opande noted that “Sesay did not have political acumen but was rather moderate and trustworthy” and that “Sesay was determined to cooperate fully with the peace process in Sierra Leone”.
General Opande described Mr. Sesay in an interview as “a young man who propelled into leadership and was very honest. He even showed respect to me as an elder.”
On Wednesday Mr Sesay denied suggestions that the efforts to free Foday Sankoh from jail by attacking the towns of Kono and Makeni before Freetown – “Operation Free The Leader” – were devised in Liberia with Mr. Taylor, and testified that these attacks were instead independently planned by sections of the RUF.
Lead Defense counsel, Courtenay Griffith asked, “whether the decision to attack Kono, was that designed by Charles Taylor?”
Mr Sesay replied, “No, not at all. It was a mission planned by Sam Bockarie at the meeting we held at Waterworks and he never said that the plan was designed by Charles Taylor.”
Mr Sesay responded to the prosecution’s claim that “the decision to attack Kono, Makeni and Freetown was planned in Monrovia, brought to Sierra Leone by Sam Bockarie and Sam Bockarie gave the order to SAJ Musa to lead the Freetown leg of the operation” by telling the court that this account “ is a bloody lie”.
Mr Sesay explained to the court that “the attack on Freetown was an AFRC affair and before December 1998, Sam Bockarie and SAJ Musa were not even talking to each other.”
“I do not recall any operation we named “Operation Free the Leader” you know that sometimes when you carry out any successful operation, fighters will give it any kind of name but to say that we named any operation or Bockarie planned Operation Free the Leader, no.” On Thursday the court sat entirely in private session as Mr. Sesay’s testimony responded to claims made by protected witnesses.
