BELLINZONA, Switzerland – During the fourth day of interrogation of the plaintiffs in Alieu Kosiah’s appeal of the 2021 sentence for war crimes, the former commander of Ulimo attacked the Swiss state that arrested him in 2014 and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
After several days of testimony by the plaintiff who alleged that he was responsible for the crimes of rape, murder, cannibalism, torture and forced labor in Foya, Lofa County, Liberia in 1993, Kosiah apparently could not contain his frustration.
“The problem is not me, but the Swiss authorities,” Kosiah said in question from a Swiss appeals judge today. “In this audience, I only see white people, nobody knows Africa or knows what’s going on. You never go to Liberia to do research.
In the previous testimony, the plaintiff detailed the massacre in 1993 known as “Black Monday” in Foya where dozens of civilians were killed. “There was blood everywhere, like a horror movie. People were slaughtered like chickens,” said the plaintiff. I got closer and saw that his heart was gone.
The plaintiff told the court that the motivation for this massacre and the killing of his brother was simple. “Alieu Kosiah told the fighter “Mami Wata” that his brother had been killed in Zorzor. He was so angry that he and Ugly Boy began to kill everyone around him. Ugly Boy is the Ulimo commander whose role in Lofa’s atrocities has been detailed in this trial and Ulimo Kunti’s ally Kamara, in France. Now on the scene and the leader of the hierarchy, Kosiah did nothing to prevent the massacre according to the plaintiff.
When challenged on the veracity of his claims about Black Monday by Kosiah’s defense lawyer Dimitri Gianoli, the plaintiff could not contain his emotions:
“If you are from Foya, you will never forget this day,” he told the court. “People are killed like chickens or cows. I don’t want to go into too much detail or I’ll cry.
The plaintiff, a former Ulimo soldier, continued about the training Alieu Kosiah received. Mention that Alieu Kosiah denied even though his witness, a former child soldier, also stated. “He only met me in 1993, and my training must have happened in 1991, so how did he know?” asked Kosiah.
New witnesses claim that since the three witnesses came to Switzerland on behalf of Alieu Kosiah’s request, their identities and participation in the trial have been publicly revealed. (The court has ruled that the identities of the plaintiffs and witnesses be withheld for security reasons.) They were brought to the first trial to prove that some of the victims named by the plaintiffs are still alive even though their homonyms are often in Liberia. In court, three judges were very critical of the warning, finding him unreliable.
He did not come this time but Alieu Kosiah spoke at length about the incoherence between the names of the victims and the three witnesses brought. The appellant said that they knew each other because they were from the same village, but their names were different. When asked if he was afraid, he replied: “Kosiah has been in prison for 8 years, do you think his family likes the court?”
He then told about the forced labor that was the victim of civilians in the city of Pasolaoun. The soldiers used to tell us: If you don’t walk fast or talk tiredly, the flies will bring a message to your parents. It means you are dead”.
The forty-year-old man seemed to have no faith in defender Alieu Kosiah. Then, defending himself, Alieu Kosiah could not boast of his career. “Sky face Kabbah has a good career. But I can go further than him”. Interested, the president asked him to go further: “So you did a good career in Ulimo?”. “No, I mean my career in the police”. While the hearing was still dragging, the judge asked Alieu Kosiah to give the court a note in order to save time. His lawyer then intervened. “I advise my client to speak without the note because it is difficult to read.” After his intervention, the judges sent everyone home at 8 o’clock after more than 10 hours of trial.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West African Justice Reporting Project.
Support the integrity and credibility of PREMIUM TIMES journalism
Good journalism costs a lot of money. But only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, responsible democracy, and transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider making a modest contribution to this noble effort.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help keep journalism relevant and ensure it remains free and available to all.
contribute
AD TEXT: Call Willie – +2348098788999
