A big fish is being dragged into the net as it has been revealed by a police witness that head of Sierra Leone Army, Peter Lavahun is part of the November, 2023 coup against President Julius Maada Bio.
Reading the statements of one of the accused persons, Detective Inspector Mohamed Kargbo further informed the Court that Mr Lavahun had plans to take over state administration and hand over the President to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for trial.
The witness made the claim last Monday while testifying before Judge Advocate, Mark Ngegba before whom 54 alleged coupists are answering to treason charges.
It is yet unclear whether the witness’s testimony would lead to the arrest of the army chief who, many say, may go at large owing to the serious nature of the crime.
On 26th November, last year, the people of Sierra Leone had a night disturbed by heavy gunfire when renegades invaded police and military armouries in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown in what many said an apparent move to topple President Bio.
The armoury at the main army barracks at Wilberforce, a stone throw to the Presidential Lodge, was overrun and weapons carted away, but the exact amount was unknown.
President Bio’s government, according to public opinion, is one afflicted by legitimacy crisis and economic hardship that is almost spiraling out of control.
However, troops loyal to President Bio put up a fierce resistance and repelled the assailants to their cocoons and enclaves, but with a heavy cost. Over 20 military personnel including a Lieutnant Colonel was killed in the process.
The President, at the time of the putsch, was out of the country, but quick to describe it as a “security breach.” Treading on the same path, the Information Minister, Chernor Bah also said it was a “security breach” but overnight, it became a coup. Summoning of former President Ernest Bai Koroma by the Sierra Leone Police also became one of the most topical issues.
The ex-Prexy, who was widely seen as the financier of the coup, was slammed with a four-count charge after a 40-hour interrogation by a team of police detectives.
However, the Army Chief who has always been on the fringes since the beginning of the coup hearings exonerates the former President saying “he is not part of any coup,” an apt defence that has caught many Sierra Leoneans by surprise.
As if there was a disconnect between the army and the government, President Bio’s claim of an “attempted coup” was openly rebuffed by Mr Lavahun who declined to call it a coup. He saw the assailants’ acts as attacks on security installations.
“The acts are mere attacks on military facilities and not a coup,” the Army Chief said while responding to media interview. Mr Lavahun however confirmed that the assailants succeeded in carting away arms and ammunition including Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers.
But, Police Chief, William Fayia Sellu disagreed with the head of the army as he considered the mutineers’ action as a coup against the president.
According to the police, the renegades failed to accomplish their mission since they could not withstand the firepower by the loyal troops.
At a press briefing days after the alleged coup, Mr Sellu assured the public that police investigations were ongoing, a ‘wanted notice’ had been put out, and that no mutineer would be left untouched.
“Looking at the mutineers’ actions, there would be no sacred cow as most of the assailants are dismissed and retired police and military officers,” the police chief told journalists.
He said a number of police officers were killed and others held captive while arms and ammunition were carted away adding that evidence was being generated against police officers.
The police chief singled out retired senior police officers including Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Alfred Karrow Kamara as one of the coup plotters.
The witness’s testimony comes at a time the ICC and UN flags have been mounted in Sierra Leone with the flame of justice burning symbolically to put an end to justice.
When it sits in the not-too-distant future, the court known as the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL) will indict those who have committed crimes against humanity between 2018 and 2023.
It is a reawakening of the defunct Special Court for Sierra Leone which, 10 years ago, tried leaders of warring factions for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war (1991-2002).
10 judges including a President and Vice President have been appointed by the United Nations to carry out the RSCSL trials having been briefed by the court’s prosecutor and registrar. Reliable sources have intimated this press that the court will soon start to indict those who bear a hand in the killings, and the names of top government officials have been submitted to the RSCSL, but the move remains a closely guarded secret.
Mid last year, ICC prosecutor, Karim Kahn and President Bio met in New York during a United Nations summit where they discussed the setting up of a court in Sierra Leone to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights crimes since 2018.
During the brief discussion, Mr Kahn told the Sierra Leonean President that trials could not be confined at the Hague as the people of Freetown, Lungi and other parts in the countryside wanted to see justice firsthand.
The ICC prosecutor also stressed that the lives of people of the Global South, Latin America and Africa matter the same way as the lives of other people anywhere in the world.
In continuation of his effort to prosecute alleged human rights abusers, Karim Kahn visited Sierra Leone, late last month, while President Bio was in the Chinese capital, Beijing to attend a China-Africa summit.
In the absence of President Bio, the ICC prosecutor however spoke with the Vice President, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh of the ICC’s intention to end impunity in a country one ravaged by one of the most brutal guerrilla warfares on the continent.
He said “genocide and other crimes against humanity must end in Sierra Leone.”
As the court sets to release its indictments, many are of the view that big heads may roll, and whether President Julius Maada Bio will appear before the court as a witness or accused person is one of the biggest debates of the day.
Although bringing a sitting President to justice could not be completely ruled out, it is rare for most part of ICC’s prosecutions drawing experience from late President Ahmed Tejan Kabba.
The late President who ruled Sierra Leone for two consecutive terms allegedly financed the operations of a pro-government militia known as the Kamajors through then Internal Affairs Minister, Hinga Norman (late).
The Kamajor, a major unit of the Civil Defence Force, was raised to defend a great part of the territory especially South-East regions after collusion between the national army and the rebels became clear.
South-East regions account for almost 50% of the total surface area of Sierra Leone, but lack of training in military ethics swayed the civilian combatants from the right objective.
In their sustained combat operations, the Kamajors committed atrocious crimes against the people of Sierra Leone for which Mr Norman was indicted while Tejan Kabba had a way out.
But, when one looks at the indictment of the former Liberian and North-Sudanese Presidents Charles Taylor and Umar AL-Bashir respectively, President Bio must be worried as the two were sitting Presidents.