Taylor Trial: Ivory Coast indicted
The convicted war criminal, Issa Sesay (in photo), has been telling the Charles Taylor trial of a virtual civil war by the rebel group, the RUF, between 1997 and 1999.
Testifying for the defence, Mr Sesay said the conflict was sparked off by the behaviour of a rebel commander known as Superman, adding that Superman tried to kill him and executed another commander called Rambo.
Issa Sesay, who is serving a 52-year jail term for atrocities committed by the RUF, said an in-fighting ripped the rebel movement apart in 1997 and left it with no central control.
He told the court that from 1997, Superman – whose real name was Dennis Mingo – refused to carry out orders from the RUF second-in-command, Sam Bockarie.
Mr. Sesay said Superman diverted captured materials, including AK rounds and RPG rockets, to his own purposes.
At one point, Sesay went on, Superman was given Le9 million to pass on to Bockarie but said the hostile rebel commander kept the cash for himself.
As part of its case that Charles Taylor had supported the RUF, the prosecution pointed to the fact that he had provided accommodation for the rebels in Monrovia.
His Defence Counsel, Courtenay Griffiths, picked up this issue when questioning Issa Sesay.
Mr. Sesay gave a chilling account of an attack which he said was carried out on the home of the RUF commander, Maurice Kallon by Superman’s forces.
He said Kallon’s wife was assaulted and her infant baby banged against a wall. The baby’s injuries were so severe that it died the following year.
The trial of the former Liberian president Charles Taylor continues.
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