At the ongoing trial at The Hague of Charles Taylor the second prosecuting witness, Alex Tamba Teh, yesterday told the court how captives were treated during the war.
The 47- year- old man residing in Sandor in Kono District disclosed that in 1998 they were in Koidu when some Kamajors went there and informed them that they were there for the people’s protection against the rebels.
The witness added that it was in April that they were captured in the Tongoro Bush by five men some of whom were in military uniforms and that all of the captives were civilians totaling bout 250 including children.
Mr Teh, who is also a reverend, narrated further that they were taken to another village called Kanya and that during the journey a man called Aiah Abu was shot by a gunman.
From Kanya town, the witness continued, they were taken to Sunna Mosque where they were welcomed by other gunmen clad in military uniforms with ECOMOG badges affixed on them.
“These men started greeting us like Nigerians and some of these captives started clapping and thanking them and telling them that they were happy because ECOMOG had come and rescued them from those ‘dogs’”, he stated.
The reverend went on to explain that, “I did not say anything because I was not satisfied so I took out my ordination card and showed it to the Brigade Commander who was Rambo. Rambo then ordered that the captives should be taken to the ‘Igbaleh’ at Kamachenda Street.”
“On our way I counted about 50 corpses all of them civilians although there were others but I could not count any longer because I was not in the mood anymore,” he disclosed.
Alex Tamba Teh revealed that he met Major Rocky who “told me that his actual name was Emmanuel Williams and that he was from Liberia and from the Bassa tribe. Rocky ordered that they should separate the men from the women and children, and that since I was the pastor I should pray for the civilians and then Rocky took his gun and shot all the elderly men. He again gave orders to the Small Boys to chop off the heads of these men.”
The witness revealed that they returned to Sunna Mosque where Major Rocky reported that he had killed a total of 101 men with the exception of the reverend.
Further narrating his ordeal, the witness said while they were held captives, the civilians were sent to find food while the women were forced to have sex with the rebels.
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