Week three began with a visit to the Special Court for Sierra Leone to attend the sentencing hearings for AFRC leaders Brima, Kamara and Kanu. First, the security of the compound is daunting, armed blue-helmets are everywhere and one needs an escort to move about. After being screened by security, Hakim and myself made our way to the outreach section to watch the proceedings via live video-feed. The prosecution utilized its allotted time by delving into the atrocities committed under the defendant’s command, their encouragement and failure to curb the abuses committed by their troops, and their active participation. As the top brass of the AFRC during the 1998-1999 coupe, which included the destruction of Freetown. The prosecutor emphasized the sheer brutality of the AFRC junta, particularly their deliberate targeting of civilians, including the systemic use of rape and amputations. They asked for 60-year sentences for Brima and Kamara, and a 50-year term for Kanu. In contrast, the defense stressed the need for reconciliation, versus deterrence and retribution. They pleaded for shorter sentences, and argued for the “good moral character” of the defendants. Sentencing will take place on Thursday.
Late night ride from Freetown to Bo:
Daniel and myself gathered our things and made our way to a poda-poda depot, in order to secure a ride from Freetown to Bo. The place was chaotic, vendors hawked their wares, children played, women danced, while young men pulled at our sleeves trying to draw us into their Bo/ Kenema bound vans. In total 25 people squeezed into the cramped van, the back seat was removed for the sake of cargo, and our feet rested atop sacks of onions, to one woman’s dismay. The road was smooth from Freetown to a place called Masiaka, then it became like the surface of the moon, grooves, cracks and craters marked the surface. The van’s pace slowed to a crawl. Shortly afterwards we got our first flat tire, and we stopped by the side of the road for a good twenty minutes. The apprentice pumped diesel into the tank that is located on the right hand side of the driver’s seat, while smoking a cigarette. I covered my eyes in dismay at the sheer recklessness. The two-dozen people in that vehicle took the long, bumpy ride in stride and good humor, while I maintain that any westerner would have been beyond irritable. Jokes, food and drinks were shared amply, while I fidgeted about, as I had lost all feeling of my backside. We arrived at Bo at around midnight.
International Justice Day Forum
We celebrated International Justice Day at a forum full of activists from Bo, Makeni, Bonthe and Moyamba. On July 17th meetings are held by activists worldwide to commemorate the creation of the International Criminal Court. We discussed the importance of accountability and drew the connection between impunity, instability and insecurity. One representative from the Special Court of Sierra Leone spoke about the institution’s importance in deconstructing the culture of silence and impunity. On the other hand, many see the investment of millions of dollars in the Special Court, while countless Sierra Leoneans go hungry and lack access to clean drinking water as a travesty. The forum expressed the need to view justice as fairness, and emphasized the importance of augmenting the capacity of the security services and the judiciary. The failure to incorporate some of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Report, such as the creation of a special fund for the war wounded and the amputees is also seen by many as an injustice in its own right. Some complained that the TRC was under funded, and did not have the resources, or the time to delve deeper into the national conscience.
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