By: Audrey Raymonda John
Detective Inspector Mohamed Jusu, a system and data analyst, on Tuesday, November 19th, 2024, tendered the CCTV footage of Pademba Road Prison of the incident on November 26th, 2023, a failed coup involving serving military and police personnel.
The said video evidence was displayed at the ongoing Court martial before Judge Advocate Mark Ngegba and seven board members, showing the 4th accused Corporal Alpha Wurie Conteh and 5th accused Corporal Ibrahim Kuyateh firing RPG bomb at Pademba Road prison.
The accused persons include Major Bai Sesay, Staff Sergeant Joseph Conteh, Sergeant Alimamy Conteh, Corporal Alpha Wurie Conteh, Lance Corporal Ibrahim Kuyateh, Lance Corporal Lahai Kemoh, and Sergeant Baimba Bangura. They are standing trial on ten counts of committing mutiny, communicating with the enemy, desertion, and conducting prejudicing military discipline.
The witness in his examination in chief led by state counsel Joseph AK Sesay said he is attached to the Criminal Investigation Department as a system and data analyst. He said he had been a system and data analyst since 2016.
Further testimony said that during the investigation of the November 26th, 2023 coup, CCTV footage, together with mobile phones, including Koita’s phone, were handed over to him for analysis and investigation.
Upon receipt of the items, he examined the mobile phone of Amadu Koita Makalo, now a convict. During the examination, he saw the contact number saved as Maj Bai Sesay, the first accused, with several calls from the phone. He added that the accused was communicating with Koita on a WhatsApp video conference initiated by Abu Dauda, now a convict.
He said Koita’s Whatsapp communication shows that there was communication between the first accused, Major Bai Sesay, between 22 and 26 November 2024.
On 22 November 2023, the witness said he saw a call notification in Koita’s phone from Abu Dauda, who initiated the Video conference call to Amadu Koita and connected the first accused and the subscriber, save as Maj Jalloh. The conference call, he said, lasted for 12 Minutes and 20 seconds.
Inspector Jusu said he investigated the subscriber Abu Dauda, who is now convicted and took a screenshot of the evidence saved in the gallery of Koita’s Samsung Galaxy phone.
He said the screenshot material was transferred to his office HP computer, adding that, taking into consideration the# value, which is an integrity use calculator, he later transferred the screenshot material to a pen drive.
He said a report was done on his findings dated 7th October 2024, signed by himself.
The reports were produced, and the tender was marked as exhibit V1 to 4.
To protect the integrity of the content, he said he used the right locker, which is a high-tech component that prevents foreign material from entering either the laptop computer or the drive to which he wants to transfer the material.
The integrity software “calculator” calculated the property in the file, and the result was given before the file was transferred.
He said Amadu Koita Makalo’s phone was put on flight mode and inserted into a bag to prevent digital material from entering it. The flash drive was tender as exhibit W.
According to the witness, the first accused, Major Bai Sesay, placed and received several calls from Koita prior to the failed coup on November 26th, 2023.
When the flash drive was displayed, it was revealed that Amadu Koita Makalo, now a convict, and the first accused, Major Bai Sesay, made several calls to each other on 25 November 2023.
On 22nd November 2023, the witness added that Abu Dauda initiated a conference called to connect the first accused, Koita, and several others.
In further evidence, Inspector Jusu said a request for CCTV footage was sent to the Sierra Leone correctional center, and the correctional service sent a flask drive containing the footage.
The witness said he watched the footage several and took screenshots of the scene, noting that by taking screenshots of various scenes, he did an analysis of it.
He said the fourth and fifth accused were identified by members of the RSLAF who were involved in the investigation.
Inspector Jusu said he did various reports on the footage because it involved various accused, some now convicted. He said the original copy was tendered during the last Court Martial trial, but he said some of the evidence was preserved. He said the preserved electronic material was transferred to a flash drive.
The CCTV footage of the camera that was placed at the front gate of Pademba prison he said was analyzed where the fifth accused, Ibrahim Kuyateh, was seen wearing military trousers, launching an RPG at the prison gate, and was spotted with 4th accused, Alpha Wurie Conteh who was wearing a military trousers and helmet. Both the 4th and 5th, he said, were spotted engaged in communication, and going forward, they exchanged RPG bombs at the Pademba prison gate heading towards Dwazark junction on the CCTV footage.
The said request was tender in court as exhibit X, respectively. He confirmed the footage would be taken on 26 November 2023.
The CCTV footage of the 4th accused was shown in court, where he was seen holding a refile with an RPG at the Pademba Road prison gate.
The witness, in conclusion, said he has been a system and data analyst since 2016.
Lawyer Ibrahim Bangura, counsel for the first accused, Major Bai Sesay, intimated to the court that there were discrepancies between what was served on them and what was displayed in court and, therefore, said he could not proceed with the cross-examination in the circumstances asked for a deferment of cross-examination for the first accused Major Bai Sesay.
Lawyer Mustapha Karim Dauda cross-examined the witness on behalf of the fourth accused, Alpha Wurie Conteh. The witness confirmed that the identification of the fourth accused was done with the help of the RSLAF.
When he was questioned that the 4th accused never fired an RPG bomb blast at Pademba Road prison, the witness replied in the affirmative, adding that the CCTV footage does not have sound.
During cross-examination by lawyer Gabba on behalf of the fifth accused, the witness said he requested various cameras at the prison, but what was given to him was what he analyzed and displayed in court, and therefore, he could not tell what was happening at the prison’s side.
He also confirmed that the footage show various locations, and he saw the 5th accused shooting at the prison gate.
He also revealed during cross-examination that the 5th accused was identified with the help of the military as he could not have because he did not know him. Still, he said he knew he was communicating with the 4th through their actions.
The matter was adjourned to Thursday, November 21st, 2024, for further cross-examination of the witness on behalf of the first accused, Major Bai Sesay, while the accused persons were remanded in prison.