Good afternoon, Mr Witness.

Afternoon.

Mr Witness, could you state your name for this Court?

My name is Albert Hindowa Saidu.

Are you able to spell that name in English?

Yes.

Please do so, Mr Witness?

Albert, A-L-B-E-R-T, Hindowa H-I-N-D-O-W-A, Saidu S-A-I-D-U.

And, Mr Witness, do you have any nickname?

Yes.

What are your nicknames, Mr Witness?

They used to call me Abor.

Who used to call you Abor?

My colleagues with whom we were together in the jungle.

And which colleagues are you talking about?

The Liberians who came to us. They were calling me Abor because my name was Albert, but they were unable to pronounce it well, so they used to call it Abor. So everybody got used to that, Abor.

And how would you spell Abor?

Well, I was spelling it as A-B-O-R.

And were you known, or are you known by any other nickname?

Well, yes.

Which one?

Well, later on some of my friends were calling me Uprising.

Could you spell it for the Court, please?

Yes, sir.

Please do so.

U-P-R-I-S-I-N-G.

And when were you born, Mr Witness?

I am sorry to interrupt, Madam President, but with respect to the nickname, it may seem irrelevant but perhaps there will be more foundation: Which jungle, which country, what year? He says colleagues in the jungle were calling him by a nickname named Abor and there is no more foundation.

This is just only introducing the witness at this stage. This may well come out in evidence.

It will, your Honours.

It is just giving his name and other names that he was known by.

Then I withdraw the objection.

So, Mr Witness, what is your date of birth?

I was born in 1967, 23 April.

And where were you born?

I was born in Taiama in the Moyamba District, Kori chiefdom.

Are you able to spell Taiama?

Yes, sir, T-A-I-A-M-A.

And the district, Moyamba, I think it is already in evidence:

What about the district, Mr Witness?

The district is Moyamba District.

My mistake, my mistake. The chiefdom?

The chiefdom is Kori chiefdom.

Are you able to spell it?

Yes, sir.

Please do so, Mr Witness?

K-O-R-I, Kori.

Mr Witness, what is your ethnicity?

I am Mende by tribe.

And what is, Mr Witness, your education level?

Well, right now I am a graduate from an institution in Bo, SAIDAC, an institution. I did a diploma in a Greek general.

And before the war in Sierra Leone what was your education level?

Well, before the war I was a college student at the Bunumbu college. I was a final year student pursuing my teacher's certificate, TC.

And which year was that?

It was in 1988 up to 1990.

Mr Werner, what is this diploma he did in a Greek general?

Sorry?

He said, "I did a diploma in a Greek general."

I will get him to clarify that, your Honour:

Mr Witness, it is recorded that you graduated from an institution in Bo and then you did a diploma. Could you tell us again what was your diploma, Mr Witness?

It was an ordinary national diploma.

In what field? What subject?

Agriculture general, extension worker.

Now, Mr Witness, you said that you did that in Bunumbu Teachers College, correct?

The diploma, no.

He gave an acronym, SAIDAC.

I am going to clarify that, your Honour.

It is Bo.

Where did you do your diploma, Mr Witness?

In Bo, at the second city in Sierra Leone, at one institution called Southern Agro-Industrial --

Oh, your Honours, that was very fast for me. Can he repeat it?

I am sorry, Mr Witness, but the interpreter couldn't keep up with you. Please repeat the name of the college a little more slowly.

The college or the institution where I did my diploma?

The institution, you are quite right.

Southern Agro-Industrial Development Associate Centre, (SAIDAC).

Thank you.

Now, you said that you did that until 1990, correct?

This diploma?

Yes.

No.

So when did you finish your diploma?

Last year in March, that was when I sat to my final examinations.

Now, when you told us about your studies before the war did you mention Bunumbu Teachers College?

Yes, sir.

In which year did you complete your studies at Bunumbu Teachers College?

Well, I did not complete it. I was in the final year when the war started. I was a final year student.

Now, Mr Witness, in which district is Bunumbu Teachers College?

It is in Peje West. It is in the Kailahun District, Peje West chiefdom. Kailahun District, Peje West chiefdom.

Your Honours, Peje West would be P-E-J-E, one word, and West W-E-S-T:

Now, Mr Witness, in Kailahun District is there another Bunumbu, Bunumbu Town?

Yes, sir.

And in which chiefdom is the other Bunumbu in Kailahun District?

It is in the Luawa chiefdom.

Your Honours, Luawa would be L-U-A-W-A:

So, Mr Witness, in 1990 where were you living?

I was in Bunumbu Teachers College.

And to your knowledge, Mr Witness, what happened in Liberia in 1990?

Well, we were in Bunumbu Teachers College.

Just pause, Mr Witness.

I suspect counsel meant Sierra Leone.

I did not.

Okay.

Maybe repeat the question so the witness can refresh his memory.

To your knowledge, Mr Witness, what happened in Liberia in 1990?

Well, at the time that I was in Bunumbu we heard that a rebel war had started in Liberia in 1990.

And who was fighting in Liberia in 1990?

We heard over the radio that it was the NPFL that were fighting in Liberia.

Did you know at that time what NPFL stands for?

Yes, sir, because we heard it over the radio.

What did it stand for?

We heard that it stood for the National Patriotic Front of Liberia.

And who, if anyone, was the boss of the NPFL at that time?

We heard that it was Charles Taylor.

Now, you mentioned hearing something on the radio at that time; which radio are you talking about when you said that?

It was the international radio, the BBC.

And what can you remember hearing on the BBC in 1990 about Charles Taylor and the war in Liberia?

Well, we heard that Charles Taylor and his rebels were fighting in Liberia. Then at one time we heard over the radio that he was saying that they were using Sierra Leone as an ECOMOG base to launch attacks in Liberia, so Sierra Leone will face the bitterness of war one day.

And you said that "he was saying", who was saying?

He himself, Charles Taylor.

And you said that "he was saying that they are using Sierra Leone as an ECOMOG base". Who was using Sierra Leone as an ECOMOG base?

The ECOMOG who were fighting against him in Liberia.

Now, again, Mr Witness, when you heard this BBC programme who did you know was Charles Taylor?

Well, we heard that he was the rebel leader for the NPFL who entered into Liberia.

And when you heard this programme on the radio how did you know that it was Charles Taylor talking?

Well, he himself, when he was being interviewed, when Robin White was interviewing him, we heard his name.

And Robin White, who was Robin White?

Well, Robin White was a BBC reporter that we knew about.

Thank you, Mr Witness. Now, I want to take you in 1991. Do you remember the year 1991?

I can remember the year 1991.

What, if anything, can you remember happening in 1991?

Well, in 1991 we were in Bunumbu at that time when we heard about a rebel invasion in Sierra Leone by - through Bomaru, up until the time the rebels entered into Sierra Leone through Bomaru.

Again, Mr Witness, what were you doing at that time when you heard that in 1991?

At that time I was in Bunumbu. I have said that. I was in Bunumbu. I was a college student at that time.

And which months was that when you heard that?

It was in March. It was in the March months.

And what, if anything, happened after that that you can remember?

Well, after that March months up until May - because it was in May that we saw the rebels when they entered in the Bunumbu Teachers College. That was where they met us.

And when you say the rebels, who are you talking about, Mr Witness?

Well, the RUF rebels and some Liberian rebels. All of them entered into Bunumbu, because I was there that morning when they entered and met us there, then we ran away into the bush.

And to your knowledge what does RUF stand for?

Revolutionary United Front.

And you said that they entered with some Liberians. Who were these Liberians?

They came from Liberia.

And then what happened after you saw them coming to the place where you were?

Well, when we ran away into the bush, later they went and collected all of us from the bush and brought us to the town in Bunumbu. They captured a lot of us. They brought us to Bunumbu in the town.

You said, "They captured a lot of us." Who captured a lot of you?

The rebels. The rebels who entered Bunumbu.

And what happened after that, Mr Witness?

Well, after we had been captured we were with them in Bunumbu for about some time - for about a week or so. Then they decided to send us to Pendembu. All of us young men and the young women and some aged men, that we should go and train at the training base to fight for our country.

So first, Mr Witness, who sent you, you and other young men, young women and other people, to the training base? Who sent you there?

The rebels who entered Bunumbu, who captured us. They sent us to the training base in Pendembu for us to go and train to become commandos to fight for our country.

Your Honour, I believe that Pendembu is already in evidence:

Now how many people about - are you able to give us an estimate of how many people were sent with you at that time to the training base in Pendembu?

Well, yes, at that time we were up to about a hundred or so people who were sent. We were mixed. The young ones, the small boys, women, men, the youths, adults. We were many up to about a hundred or so, those of us who were captured and sent.

And you talked about small ones. How old were the youngest people sent to Bunumbu [sic] for training at that time?

Well, from their looks as I was looking at them they looked like from nine years of age, the youngest whom I felt was among us was about nine years of age.

And the ones who was about nine years what was their gender, Mr Witness?

There were males who were nine years, there were females who were about 11 to 12 years, but they too were young anyway.

Then what happened, Mr Witness, when you arrived in Bunumbu training base - sorry, I should have asked you something before. In which district is Bunumbu - is Pendembu, sorry. In which district is Pendembu?

It's in the Kailahun District. That's where Pendembu is.

So what, if anything, happened when you and the others arrived in Pendembu?

Well, when we got there we met our companions at the base. They had already opened the base. We met our companions training at the base. They too were at the base and so we too went there, but when we went we met categories of people at the base like the boys, they were put in their own group, they called them the SBU. The young girls or the young girls, they put them in a group and they called them the WAC's. We the men who were there, we also were put in our own group. That was how we were at the base when we were training.

Now first maybe just clarify that. You said, "We met our companions training there." Who are you talking about?

Our Sierra Leoneans, our companions, those who were captured around Pendembu and the surrounding villages in that area.

And when you first arrived there in the Pendembu training base, how many people - how many of your companions were already there?

Well, we met a lot of people there. I can't estimate. There were many at the base, because we too when we went, we were many.

Now you said SBUs, the young were put in SBUs. What does SBUs stand for, Mr Witness, if you know?

Well, since I went to the base when I knew about SBU, they said they were the Small Boys Unit. Small Boys Unit.

And then you talked about WAC's?

Yes.

How would you spell that?

Well, they said W-A-C. That was how I saw them calling them, W-A-C and they added the S at the end.

And to your knowledge what does WAC's stand for?

Well, that was really - well, WAC's, the only meaning I knew for that is that when they said WAC's it was meant for women. I didn't know what that W, A or C meant.

And at that time you went and there were these different groups, how old were the females in the WAC's groups in Pendembu?

Well, they too were within the same age bracket. Some were young, some were old, slightly old, some were youths. They were mixed just within the same age bracket like those of us who went together.

And when you say some were young, how young were they?

Well, like from 18, 17. 17, 18. That's what I mean by young, 17, 18 to 19.

Now, Mr Witness, how long did you stay in Pendembu?

Well, I took - spent about three months at the training base. About three months. That's when we graduated. That's when we graduated.

And what did you do during these three months?

At the training base?

Yes.

We were undergoing a military training. They trained us how to shoot a gun, how to manoeuvre, how to take cover, concealment when you see your enemy. They taught us all those tactics, how to attack a town.

Mr Witness, just one more question about the SBUs. In Pendembu you said there were different groups and one of those groups was the SBU. How old were the boys trained in the SBU unit in Pendembu?

Well, from the same age. From nine, ten. Nine, ten, 11, 12, 13. Yes, 13. From nine to 13. They fell within nine to 13, those who were called SBUs, because they were small when you saw them.

Thank you. Now you said that you were undergoing military training and you said, "They trained us how to shoot a gun, how to manoeuvre." Who trained you?

The instructors whom we met at the base. There were people at the base who were called instructors, training instructors. They were the ones who trained us.

And what, if anything, did you learn about these training instructors in Pendembu at that time?

Well, like the training instructors whom we met there, like the ones that we met at the base, they were speaking the Liberian language to us. So we knew they were Liberians who were training us at the base and that they were the instructors at the base.

And how many Liberian instructors are we talking about at that time in Pendembu?

Well, there were many. There were slightly many. About eight or nine, something like that, but they were there.

And what else, if anything, did you learn about them, about the fact that they were Liberian?

Well, the training - the training was hard. They were training - they were giving us hard training. That's what I learnt from them.

Mr Werner, what is the Liberian language?

Thank you, your Honour. I will clarify that:

When you say, Mr Witness, they spoke with you in the Liberian language, what did you mean? Which language are you talking about?

Well, it was not Krio, because when a Krio man speaks you will know that he is a Krio man, or a Sierra Leonean. Or when a proper Englishman speaks you will know that an Englishman has spoken. But in Liberian language when the person is speaking it is mixed, it has slangs, it has English slangs and, you know, things like that. Their own language was different from ours. It was from that that I knew they were Liberians. Even their names that they mentioned to us at the base, you knew that they were Liberian names. We didn't have such names.

And what about their accent, Mr Witness? Did you notice anything about their accent, the way they were talking?

I do not understand what you mean by accent.

Okay, so we will move on, Mr Witness. I think you answered the question already. Now, Mr Witness, during your time in Pendembu what, if anything, did you learn about where these Liberians themselves were trained?

Well, all I knew about them was that they had come from Liberia. They said that was where they had come from. That was where they trained. That they had come to us, they were the Special Forces. That's what they were calling them, Special Forces. So those of us who went to train at the base, they called us junior commandos because they said we were doing training in our country, we were junior commandos. Those who came, they called themselves Special Forces from Liberia.

And what else, if anything, did you learn at that time in Pendembu about the Special Forces apart from the fact that they were coming from Liberia?

Well, even the way they passed commands on the base you will understand that they were superiors. They were above. They were above us, and we knew they were.

And you said they were Special Forces. To which group, if any, did they belong, the Special Forces?

They were NPFL just like I have said before. They said they were Special Forces from the NPFL.

Okay. Now can you remember the names of any of the Special Forces instructors that you met in Pendembu?

Well, yes, like I recall CO Big Darling, one who was called Big Darling. And there was another called CO Nyamator and there was another with a nickname called CO After the War. So those were the kind of names they had. There was also another called Rebel Baby, CO Rebel Baby.

Okay, Mr Witness, I will need some help for one of them. You said Nyamator. Are you able to spell that for the Court?

To my own knowledge I think it is N-Y-A-M-A-T-O-R, N-Y-A-M-A-T-O-R. Because some of their names were very queer to be called.

Now, when you were in Pendembu during that training, who, if anyone, was in charge of the training?

Well, we used to see some other Liberian bosses come to the base. There was another called Sam Tuah, CO Sam Tuah. He was so frequent on our base. Sam Tuah and another who was called General Dopoe and another called General Mustapha. Those were the three of them who were very frequent on our own base. They normally came and returned. They were the people that we saw come there frequently.

So my question was who was in charge and then you spoke about these three individuals coming to the base. Are you saying that these people were in charge of the base, or were they just visiting the base?

Well, like in the case of Sam Tuah I want to believe he was in charge of that training base in Bunumbu [sic]. That is CO Sam Tuah. I think he was in charge really.

Your Honours, Sam Tuah I believe was spelled before. Dopoe, the same, and Mustapha will be the normal spelling.

Just pause, Mr Werner.

Madam President, I notice from the LiveNote transcript that the last response given by the witness speaks of a training base in Bunumbu and I am wondering if it is the interpretation, because so far we have been talking about a training base in Pendembu.

Please clarify, Mr Werner.

I am grateful for that clarification:

Mr Witness, tell us again where was the training base during these three months?

It was Pendembu.

Had you had any training in Bunumbu at all at that time?

No, Bunumbu was a front line at that time.

Thank you for that. So you told us that you believe that Sam Tuah was in charge of the training base. Now, what was Sam Tuah's nationality to your knowledge?

He was a Liberian.

And to which group, if any, did he belong at that time, to your knowledge?

Well, he was NPFL. NPFL.

How did you know that?

It is because those who were on the training base with us, at any time he came they saluted him and they referred to him as "boss", the instructors who were training us.

Now, you told us about someone else coming at that time: Dopoe. Who was Dopoe?

Well, he was also one of the Liberian Special Forces who used to come to the base. He used to visit the base.

Do you know his last name?

No.

Now, you mentioned as well an individual called Mustapha. Who was Mustapha?

Well, the Mustapha was also a Liberian Special Forces, but we understood even from his tongue, the way he was speaking, that he was a Gambian. He was not actually a Liberian, because his own tongue was different. The language he spoke was different. Even the instructors who were there with us made us to understand that General Mustapha was a Gambian.

So you told us about Special Forces and then you mentioned another group, you said junior commandos. Who were the junior commandos?

Well, like for those of us who were captured in Sierra Leone, whom they trained in Sierra Leone, we were those referred to as junior commandos.

So you were a junior commando then?

Yes, sir.

Now, you told us about junior commandos and Special Forces. If any, which other group were you aware of at that time during your training?

Well, we heard about vanguards also. We heard about vanguards.

What did you hear about the vanguards?

Well, the vanguards, the way we heard about them was that they were people who were trained in Liberia before they entered Sierra Leone, so they said they were the vanguards for the RUF war. That was what they told us and that was what I understood from them.

And who told you that?

Like, for instance, some of the vanguards who came. Like, for instance, the time we graduated from the base when I was attached to somebody where I went to work, I met a vanguard there and he was the commander and he himself told me that he was one of the vanguards that entered.

And who was the vanguard who told you that? What was his name?

The one I first started job with was Morris Kallon. He was Morris Kallon.

And is it Morris Kallon you are talking about that was a vanguard? Is that correct?

Yes, sir.

Now, which nationalities were the vanguards, to your knowledge?

Well, some vanguards were Sierra Leoneans and some other vanguards were Liberians.

So when you were in this training in Pendembu, if any, which vanguard did you know at that time?

Well, since the time I was on the base in Pendembu I did not actually have much idea about vanguard that was present there, until the time we graduated.

And when you graduated then, what did you learn, if anything, about Sierra Leonean vanguards?

Well, just like I said, after all they sent me back to Bunumbu where I was captured and even when we were on the base, closer to our graduation they will ask us where we want to go because they will say that the areas where we were captured, we knew the terrain better and so they will decide to send us to those areas and the area I was sent to, Morris Kallon was there as commander and some other fighters. So I went there, I was fighting together with him and I met some other vanguards there with him too.

And which vanguards did you meet then?

Well, at that time I met Morris Kallon there as the commander and then - anyway, there were some other vanguards, but I cannot actually recall their names now, those who were there with us, because I was working directly with Morris Kallon and that was target C, Bunumbu. That was where I was.

We will talk about that, Mr Witness. Now, you told us that the vanguards were from the RUF and you told --

[Microphone not activated].

I believe he did. Yes, I will clarify:

Mr Witness, you told us that you were abducted by the RUF and then you were sent to the training base and then you told us about a number of Special Forces coming to visit and you told us that you believed Sam Tuah, who was Special Forces, was in charge of the training. Now, at the time of your training in Pendembu, to your knowledge who, if anyone, was in charge of the RUF?

It was Foday Sankoh.

And at the time of your training, how did you know that?

That it was Foday Sankoh who was in charge of the RUF?

Yes?

Well, at the time we were being trained there were some songs that the instructors taught us to sing. They were praising Foday Sankoh and they were saying Foday Sankoh is our President in Sierra Leone. So from that point we knew that he was the RUF leader at that time.

Did you ever see Foday Sankoh yourself, Mr Witness?

Whilst I was in training at the base?

At any time.

Yes.

When was the first time that you saw Foday Sankoh?

Well, my first time seeing Foday Sankoh was when I had graduated and when I was sent to Bunumbu to work with Morris Kallon. At a point in time I travelled with Morris Kallon from Bunumbu and then he had a talk with Foday Sankoh where Foday Sankoh was based. They referred to the place as the Mansion Ground and that was where I saw him and that was the first time I knew him.

We will come back to that, Mr Witness. Now, just one question to clarify: You said that on the training base you were singing his name, what were you singing on the training base exactly?

Well, there was another song that they taught us in which they told us they referred to him as Lion. They will say, "Lion, hey, Lion, hey", and when we asked them they said it was Foday Sankoh who was referred to as a lion, that he was the lion of the revolution that they entered with, and in that song also I remembered.

And when you said that "they told us they refer to him as Lion", who told you that?

The instructors who were on the base.

Now, Mr Witness, so you explained to us a little bit about your training. What else, if anything, can you remember happening during your training, during this month in Pendembu?

Well, like during the training - actually when we were captured at Bunumbu and when they took us to the training base and whilst we are training, some of my friends and I actually decided to escape because the type of training that we were undergoing and when they told us that we were going to fight a war, we found it very difficult and moreover I was a college student at that time and I was thinking about completing my course, but whilst we were planning, at a point in time on the base two recruits amongst us, because we were all recruits at that time, they decided to escape. They attempted it. They almost escaped, but they were caught and when they caught them in the bush they brought them back to the base. They were stripped naked and they tied their hands on their backs. They referred to that action as tiebay [phon]. They were seriously beaten and brought back to the base. So when they arrived on the base they called for a formation and when they called for a formation all of us would come and then we will assemble and stand in categories: The SBUs would be in their own category, the men and the women. So they brought the two of them in front of us. So we thought it was an unfortunate situation for us and that was the time CO Sam Tuah came. CO Sam Tuah came.

Sorry to interrupt you, but just pause there one second. You said that some of you tried to escape and then two people were caught and you said "they" caught them. Who caught these people trying to escape?

Whilst we were on the base they had base securities. The instructors were there and they had the base securities who looked after us, those of us the recruits. They were there to ensure that no recruits escaped from the base, so I think those securities saw them trying to escape and they caught them and then they brought them back to the instructors and they handed them over. So where we were, those of us the recruits, where we were kept, they referred to the place as the billet. So whilst we were in the billet we heard them calling for formation, formation, formation. So all of us ran to the assembly ground, because as a recruit when you heard that you should run to the assembly ground. When we got there they brought them in front of us and they were tied. They had beaten them up seriously.

Then CO Sam Tuah came and when he came they explained the situation to him and then they told him that these men were trying to escape. So right in our presence at that time we were there standing and CO Sam Tuah turned to us and told us and he said, "Now I am going to set an example for all of us standing here that anyone amongst you who attempts - and now we are here, we are trying to train you guys to fight for your country and you are trying to escape, so now I will set an example and if anybody attempts like these guys have done we will do the same thing to you."

And right in my presence that was my first time that I saw that kind of thing happen in my presence, the killing of a human being in our presence. CO Sam Tuah took out his pistol and shot the two men, the two guys in our presence and both of them went down to the ground. And he turned to us, he started pointing fingers at us that, "If anybody attempts escaping like these people did I will do the same thing to you."

So right from that moment I was so panicked on that base, because we had been thinking about escaping from the base then this kind of thing happened in our presence. So that was one of the things that happened in my presence on that base that created so much panic in me over the whole training that was going on in Pendembu.

So he turned towards some of the recruits and asked them to drag the guys to the other side and then the two of them, they dragged them to a nearby bush. I can't tell whether they were buried now or they only threw them into the bush and came back. So that was one of the things that happened in my presence at the base.

Mr Witness, before you said that you believed the securities working for the trainers caught these people. To which group, if any, did these securities belong that went after these people trying to escape?

Well, when we went to the base we met them there. We met them there and they were all working together with the instructors. They were all working together with the instructors. We met them there and I want to believe they were those same NPFL fighters who had come.

Now you mentioned at one point a tiebay. Could you explain more what you meant when you said that?

Well, that was the word that they used. When they captured somebody for such a thing they would put your two arms on your back and then they will use nylons to tie your hands on your back. They will tie you up a kind of way that you will even find it very difficult to breathe. So that was how they referred to the action, tiebay.

Again, just forsake of clarity who referred to that action as tiebay?

The instructors who were on the base.

Okay. Now, Mr Witness --

I should maybe record that the witness demonstrated his hands to the front and straining the muscles of the shoulders and arms as he gave the explanation.

Thank you:

Now to your knowledge, Mr Witness, at the time you were being trained in Pendembu how many training bases, if any, were in the RUF at that time?

Well, at that time the base was in Pendembu and they were even trying to establish another base in Kailahun because of the escapist issues and Pendembu was very close to the front. So they decided that because we were almost the last people who were trained on that base in Pendembu they decided to take the base now to Kailahun so that they will prevent people from escaping. So that was where the next base was established.

And when you say Kailahun what are you talking about? About the district, or about the town?

Kailahun Town itself. There was a secondary school there called Methodist Secondary School and it was on that campus that the training base was established.

Now you told us about your training in Pendembu and then you told us about the fact that SBUs were being trained in Pendembu as well. Which kind of training did the SBU undertake in Pendembu?

Well, they also underwent similar training, but theirs were not as difficult as those of us who were adults. They were there. They also taught them how to shoot. They trained them so many other skills like us, but theirs were not as tedious as ours.

Now you told us that you graduated from the base. When you graduated were you the only one to graduate at that time?

No, sir.

How many of you graduated at the same time?

Well, I can't give you an exact figure, but we are many. We were many, because after our graduation there were front lines like Baiima and Quiva and then Bunumbu. So those of us who came from the Bunumbu area, we were sent there. Those who came from the Baiima and Quiva areas, they were sent there respectively. That was how we were sent.

I am just checking if we have those spellings. Okay, we believe that the town is correctly spelt in the LiveNote:

Now, Mr Witness, what happened to you after the graduation?

Well, they sent me to the Bunumbu target, and we refer to there as target C, to be there as a fighter.

And again you told us at the beginning of your evidence that there were actually two Bunumbu in Kailahun District, so which Bunumbu are you referring to?

Bunumbu Teachers College in the Peje West chiefdom.

Thank you. And to whom, if anyone, did you report when you were there?

I reported to Morris Kallon.

And then you said target C. Can you explain why was Bunumbu called target C at that time?

Well, at that time I believe that it was one of the deployment areas. Because like the Quiva area was referred to as target A, and Baiima which faced Daru barracks was called target B, and Bunumbu which was where Bunumbu Teachers College was and it was on the main Kono Highway going towards Kono, it was called target C. So those were the codes that they used to refer to the targets.

Now you said that you were a fighter in target C under Morris Kallon in Bunumbu, Bunumbu Teachers College. Were you the only fighter at that time in target C?

No, sir. When we went we met people there. People were already there before we went there. Some other fighters were there already.

Who were the fighters already in Bunumbu, target C, when you went there?

Well, for those of us the junior commandos who went there, and when we went there we met some Liberian fighters who were there together with Morris Kallon. We were all there. We were all a mixed set of people. We met them there, but we were there with them.

You said that some of them were working with Morris Kallon and were Liberian. Which group, if any, did they belong to, these Liberians?

They were NPFL.

How did you know that?

It was because those men always created a line of difference between us. Those of us who were trained in Sierra Leone, they said we were junior commandos. And those of them who came from Liberia and they were Liberians, they said they were NPFL forces. So that was how they categorised us.

And when you said that they always created a line of difference, what do you mean? How did they create a line of difference between you, between the different groups?

Because they said they came and trained us, so they were the bosses, and they said we were the juniors for them.

How about the vanguards that you talked about? How were they considered?

Well, they and the vanguards were actually working hand in gloves, but there were times that they had misunderstandings too.

When you say they and the vanguards, who are you referring to? Who is "they"?

NPFL, the Liberian fighters.

Now what else, if anything, did you do when you were in Bunumbu Teachers College, target C, with Morris Kallon?

Well, when we went there and whilst we were there we were working there, but amongst us most of our men who were there with us were not actually educated. So there were times - there was a time that an issue of administration came up and then they asked me that I took up a pen and start writing. And since then Morris Kallon picked me up and he asked me to serve as his adjutant. He said I will now stay with him and I will serve as his adjutant. So since then I was now assisting the target C area acting as adjutant to Morris Kallon.

Now at that time in the target C in Bunumbu how many adjutants were working for Morris Kallon?

Well, I did not know about all those things, because at that time it was not something permanent. The adjutant or clerk to Morris Kallon was not actually permanent. But since I started working with him I want to say I was in fact the only person who served permanently with him. So at any time now an administrative business came to his camp he will call on me. Although I met some other clerks or some other people who were writing for him, but they were not actually educated. They were not versed.

And when you said that they gave you a pen and you started to write, in which language did you start to write?

English language.

And when you said that you started to work for Morris Kallon as an adjutant and writing things, in which language did you used to write things for Morris Kallon?

In English language.

And you said that some of the people actually were not educated. Who were you referring to when you said some of the people were not educated?

Like for instance my colleague junior commandos with whom I graduated from the base, some of them - some of them used to write actually but they would not correctly spell the words and they would not put them into good sentences in fact.

And what about the commanders? What did you know about the literacy level of the commanders, if anything, in the RUF at that time?

Well, like in the case of Morris Kallon he could read, but I cannot say he was actually better educated, but if someone writes and then you read it out to him, he will be able to understand it and sometimes if you give it to him he could read the ones he could understand, but there were commanders who were not actually educated.

Can you think of any names of RUF commanders that you knew at that time who were not actually educated?

Well, for instance, Morris Kallon because he was the person that I actually directly worked with in the C target. I was working directly with him in that target. I can recall him, because, for instance, in the case of the other Liberian fighters I used to scare them [sic], because I in fact never used to go close to them. I did not know much about them. But they were not actually involved in administrative jobs.

Now, in the course of --

I am a little unclear on that, Mr Werner. Sorry to interrupt. He said "I used to scare them" and "I never used to go close to them."

What did you mean, Mr Witness, when you said that you used to scare the Liberians who were there and then you said that you never went close to them, so how did you scare them?

Well, with the past experience I had from the training base, when those two recruits were killed in my presence, I had the feeling in mind that they were people that somebody will not joke with to that extent, because they were quick to kill somebody. So I had that feeling in me. I feared them. That was why I said so.

I think, Mr Interpreter, you got that wrong. It was the witness who was scared of them, not the other way round.

Sorry, your Honours. It came clear to me later.

Now, Mr Witness, can you explain to us a little bit more what you did for Morris Kallon in the course of your duties as a clerk or adjutant? What did you do there in Bunumbu?

Did he say he was a clerk? He used the word "clerk"?

Yes.

Sorry, I will rephrase:

As an adjutant?

Well, at times when he received calls, like for instance he used to receive calls from Pendembu, at one time I recall when Foday Sankoh came to Pendembu he called him and when he called him he asked me to go with him to Pendembu. So at that time we used to walk to go from Bunumbu to Pendembu, then we crossed the Moa River and went there. I went with him. When we went there we met Foday Sankoh on the Mansion Ground. That was the first time I went and saw him. So all the details of the discussion he had with Foday Sankoh, he called me and asked me to write them on papers. So those were some of the things I did together with him. I used to go out with him and return.

What kind of document, if any, did you see when you were an adjutant at that time working for Morris Kallon?

Well, at one point in time Foday Sankoh invited him to go to Pendembu for briefing and he sent a letter to him. I even read the letter out to him. He gave him directives that he was writing the letter to report to him at Pendembu, with immediate effect, for briefing and then he asked me, he said, "Adjutants go with me", and then I went with him.

You mentioned before that you went with Morris Kallon to see Foday Sankoh. Is it the same event you are talking about?

Yes, sir.

Mr Werner, there are so many "him"s and "he"s in there.

Yes, I will clarify, your Honours:

You said, Mr Witness, that at one point in time Foday Sankoh invited "him" to go to Pendembu for briefing, so who is "him"?

It is Morris Kallon, the commander with whom I was working in Bunumbu.

And then you said that "he sent a letter to him". Again, who is the "him"?

I did not get you clear.

You said that Foday Sankoh invited him, now you said that it is Morris Kallon, to go to Pendembu for briefing and "he sent a letter to him". Who sent a letter to whom?

It was Foday Sankoh who sent the letter to Morris Kallon at Bunumbu, that he wanted to see him in Pendembu for briefing and he asked me to go with him. Then we went to Pendembu.

And who asked you to go with him?

Morris Kallon.

Then you said that you even read the letter out to him. To whom did you read the letter?

To him, Morris Kallon.

And then you said that "he gave him directives", so who gave directives to whom?

It was Foday Sankoh in the letter he wrote to Morris Kallon. The subject was directive. He gave the directive to Morris Kallon to report to him at Pendembu for briefing and he, Morris Kallon, asked me to go with him to Pendembu and then we went.

To your knowledge, why did Foday Sankoh use the word "directive" at that time?

Objection.

Yes, Mr Anyah?

The question involves facts not on the record. Foday Sankoh is not said to have used the word "directive". The witness is using "directive" generically to refer to the fact that the letter contained instructions to Kallon to report to Pendembu.

I can clarify.

I thought the witness did use the word "directive", but, Mr Werner, to report. I recollect that, but Mr Werner is going to clarify. I will not interrupt the examination-in-chief.

Can you clarify that, Mr Witness? How was the word "directive" used?

Well, when the letter came - when Foday Sankoh sent the letter and when Morris Kallon received the letter, he called me, the adjutant. He gave the letter to me to read it out to him. He said the Pa had sent this letter. He said the Lion sent this letter and that was how he used his name. After Foday Sankoh he said the Lion. When I opened the letter I saw on the top of it "Revolutionary United Front, Sierra Leone" and I saw "from CIC in charge" and I saw subject - he wrote against it "directive" and he dated it. I read the body of the letter out to him, that he was to report to him in Pendembu for briefing.

When you said - and the word "directive" I think is not on the transcript, but you said, "He wrote against it 'directive' and he dated it." Who are you talking about?

Foday Sankoh.

So are you talking about the letter that you saw at that time?

Yes, sir.

Yes, Mr Werner, we have just been alerted to the fact --

Just one more question.

Very well, but we are almost up to our time limit. No, no, put the question. We have one minute I think.

Mr Witness, to your knowledge what did "directive" mean?

Well, what I understood from that letter was that directive was a very strong command, or order, that came from the high command that you shall go by. That was what I understood from it later.

Thank you, Mr Witness.

Mr Witness, it is now the normal time for us to adjourn for the day. We will be starting court again tomorrow at 9.30. I must advise you that now that you have taken the oath you must not discuss your evidence with any other person until all your evidence is finished. You understand what I say?

Yes, ma'am.

Please adjourn court until 9.30 tomorrow.