The transcripts of the trial of Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia. More…
Thank you, Madam Kallon. Shall we go to the next page, page 5667, the transcript of 10 March 2008, Isaac Mongor's evidence. Starting at line 9, a question was asked of Isaac Mongor:
"Q. Now, you mentioned that Foday Sankoh was at Camp
Naama. Did you hear Foday Sankoh speaking to the recruits?
A. Yes, Foday Sankoh used to speak to the recruits.
Q. Do you recall now anything that he would tell the
recruits at Camp Naama?
A. Well, he used to tell them that Sierra Leone had a
one-party system at that time, so the country was corrupt
and that he was training them for them to go and free the
people from that one-party system and for them to take over
power and rule the country. So, those were the things that
he used to tell the men during parade, and that they should
be strong and that they should be courageous.
Q. Did he ever indicate, that you can recall, how he would
accomplish this task of taking over the country in Sierra
Leone?
A. Well, he used to say that, 'When you are here and you
are training I can say I am a poor man, I don't have money,
but all that I am doing here it is my brother, who is
Mr Taylor, that is doing it.' So, that is what he used to
tell the men.
Q. Would you yourself ever talk privately with Foday
Sankoh?
A. Yes, I used to talk with Foday Sankoh.
Q. Did Foday Sankoh ever mention Mr Taylor in your
discussions with him?
A. Yes, he used to talk about Mr Taylor.
Q. Can you recall now anything he said about Mr Taylor?
A. Well, he said that Mr Taylor was his brother and that
what he was doing, that is when he was training those men,
it was Mr Taylor who was doing it for him and that after
the completion of the training for them to go it was
Mr Taylor that he depended on to do everything, and so even
myself, he used to encourage me and he used to tell me that
the job I was doing, I should exercise patience and bear
with him."
Let's consider what Isaac Mongor told this Court that I've just read. He said Foday Sankoh used to speak to the recruits. He told them that Sierra Leone had a one-party system. And then Foday Sankoh spoke of being a poor man. He said he did not have money. And then he said, but all that he was doing there, it was his brother Charles Taylor that was doing it.
Madam Kallon, you say Pa Morlai would come to your house, Firestone, Harbel. You said your husband Daniel Kallon was respected and that he was close to Pa Morlai. You say yourself that you were close to Pa Morlai. Did Pa Morlai ever tell you that all he was doing at Camp Naama, the training of those fighters there, that it was Mr Taylor who was doing that for him?