SLBC kills case – tells court cassette is recycled
Presenters of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation TV (SLBC), Saturday 25th told the High Court that the video interview of Lansana Fadika was long ago recycled.
Daniel Morseray, co- presenter of a popular TV programme ‘We Yus,’ in his testimony at the High Court said he did receive a mini DVD cassette from one Ibrahim Conteh (a freelance photo journalist).
The cassette, he said, has video recording and soundtrack interview of Lansana Fadika, who was allegedly wounded by accused Aziz Carew during the local council bi-election brutalities in Ward 369 Constituency 104.
It is a fact that Fadika, hours after he was stabbed, granted an interview with SLBC TV, giving a clean breast that he was wounded not by Aziz Carew (accused), but by one of his (Aziz) boys.
Just when the prosecution closed its case last week, lawyers defending Aziz Carew eventually called on presenters of SLBC TV ‘We Yus’ programme, to have them submit the original copy of a recorded interview with Lansana Fadika (complainant) once aired.
In her testimony, presenter Lucian Ganda admitted receiving an original mini DVD cassette from one of SLBC’S freelance photojournalists Ibrahim Conteh, on the subject of an interview with Fadika.
“I received the cassette from Ibrahim, but passed it over to my editor Josephus and co- presenter Daniel Morseray for editing and possible broadcast,” Lucian told the court.
When later Daniel Morseray was recalled to further his testimony on the issue surrounding Fadika’s interview, he said the cassette submitted him by Lucian was edited, and afterward included in content of recordings for the day’s ‘We Yus’ programme.
He however told the court that the original mini DVD cassette was long ago recycled and could not be traced any longer.
“My lord,” Daniel Morseray said, “at SLBC TV, we more often than not, engage in the recycling of video and audio cassettes. We do so because the institution cannot meet to buy cassettes on a daily basis; sometime Le 15,000 or Le 25,000 per cassette.”
It was a shocker to the defence of Aziz when afterward Judge Browne Marke ruled against the replaying of the interview with Fadika as in cassette submitted by crews of the SLBC, and which allegedly has edited interview of Fadika.
It could be recalled that Fadika, in his testimony at High Court 2 said he was stabbed while doing ‘house to house’ sensitization to people of Constituency 104 Ward 369, telling them to come out in their number and cast their votes during the January 14th local council bi-elections.
That he was unexpectedly approached by the accused Aziz, who as at the time was with a group, bowed before him as if ‘omorjubaing’ or paying respect to him, but turned round to stab him on the leg.
Fadika, on the other hand, and preceding his testimony at the High Court, has said in an interview with SLBC TV that he was stabbed by one of Aziz’s boys, and not him (Aziz) at all.
Fadika’s double tongue disclosures nevertheless compelled members of the defence of Aziz to urgently call on presenters of the SLBC ‘We Yus’ programme as their witnesses.
But things went the other way shortly after the SLBC TV witnesses told the High Court that they could neither trace nor make available the original cassette once handed over to them by Ibrahim Conteh (a freelance photojournalist) though; as according to them, it was had been recycled.
The case will come up again on Wednesday 29th.
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