by Alpha Bedoh Kamara

Created on: May 28, 2008

CDF Indictees Sentenced To 20 and 15 years jail

The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone has sentenced former Civil Defense Force High Priest, Allieu Kondewa and War Director, Moinina Fofana, to 20 and 15 years respectively, after the Trial Chamber had earlier sentenced them to 6 and 8 years respectively In October 9, 2007.

The two were standing trial on eight charges, ranging from unlawful killings, physical violence and mental suffering, looting and burning, terrorizing the civilian population, collective punishments, and the use of child soldiers.

Justice Gelaga-King while reading a summary of the Court on the Appeal of the appellant (Prosecution) and the respondent (Kondewa and Fofana) stated that the word Kamajor' means a hunter, one who is supposed to know the bush and have knowledge in medicine.
He said he is the one who protects his village from natural and supernatural threat.
He said at the advent of the war in 1991, the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) military Government used the Kamajor militia to fight the rebels and that the CDF was formed in 1999 under the leadership of late Dr. Lavalie.
He further stated that Paramount chiefs of the Southern region appointed the Regent Chief, Sam Hinga Norman, as head of the Kamajors.

He said in 1997, former President Kabbah was overthrown and had to seek refuge in neighbouring Guinea and that Kamajors went into the bush.
"Peter Penfold testified on February 8, 2006 that a meeting was arranged with Kabbah and Norman, and that the British Government, the US, the Nigerian Government and others, agreed to support the Kamajors with the agreement that both should work in the interest of the people of Sierra Leone," he said.
Justice Gelaga-king also states that Kabbah created and established the CDF while he was in Guinea, for the purpose of conducting military operations to re-establish the democratically-elected government.

Justice Gelaga-king in his statement said despite the sentence imposed on the accused by the majority of the Appeal Court Judges, he found Kondewa not guilty of all the eight counts, while in his dissenting view, Kondewa's case, as argued by the prosecution of having been a superior subordinate, would not have found grounds in any civilized nation and that he was not a priest neither a high priest, but a juju man.
"He was a Goboi dancer," he said.

In a press conference held after the trial, the Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Stephen Rapp, said the prosecution welcomed the convictions of the CDF leaders by the Appeals Chamber and that once again the judges of the Special Court have upheld the rule of law and recognized the suffering of the people of Sierra Leone and the horrific crimes committed during the civil war.
"These convictions demonstrates that all sides in a war are to be held responsible for their actions.

As I said when announcing our decision to appeal from the sentencing judgment of the Trial Chambers that the pain of awful crimes inflicted on innocent civilians is every bit as terrible when done by defence forces as by rebel groups. The strikes of the machetes and of the bullets did the same damage to human flesh. There can be no justification for the international killing or the cruel treatment of innocent unarmed civilians," he stated.

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