At the ongoing Appeals Trial argument for the three Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) Special Court indictees, the prosecution yesterday submitted that the appellant instigated and ordered crimes in Bombali and Freetown.
In their response to the defence’s submission Christopher Starker on behalf of the prosecution said according to the evidence deduced by the Trial Chamber, the first appellant Alex Tamba Brima was involved in the Bombali and Freetown campaigns.
During the Masofinia address, the prosecutor said, the first appellant ordered the fighters to commit crimes against civilians. Some of the attackers were called names like ‘Fear No Soul’ and these fighters did things according to orders given to them by Tamba Brima, he said.
The Special Court prosecutor further submitted that, “Brima gave numerous orders and no one would do anything without the orders from Brima and the troops reported back to him”
“He was a driving force behind the campaign of crimes, crimes that were instigated and he was the instigator,” Mr Starker said.
According to the prosecutor after the death of SAJ Musa, Tamba Brima took over the overall command even if he was not part of the planning but he was a mover of making things happen.
For the second appellant, Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara, the prosecutor submitted that he was the deputy commander who participated actively in decision making.
Stressing that the second appellant was present when crimes were committed. “He was at the headquarters, he was involved in all of the planning and was a senior figure who contributed to the climate of criminality that prevailed in the AFRC troops,” he stressed further.
Christopher Starker also submitted that the second appellant instigated others to participate in the commissioning of crimes.
The third appellant Santigie Borbor Kanu, the prosecutor went on, was the Chief of Staff, a senior commander in the Bombali and Freetown campaigns.
Mr Starker submitted further that Kanu was present when crimes were being committed and that he also committed crimes demonstrating to the fighters how to do “long and short sleeves” on civilians. “The function he played aided and abetted in the crimes,” he stated. In his submission the prosecutor said, “instigation does not mean that the accused involved actively but instigation can also be done by a group of people including the accused.”
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