By Saio Marrah
The lead lawyer, for Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer who is charged with obstructing the work of the police has applied for the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Francis Mustapha KaiKai, to serve as witness because according to him, his name has been mentioned severally.
Lawyer Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara also applied for a serving military personnel, Victor Swaray to also testify because his name had come up several times.
Before Kamara’s application for the two witnesses to testify at the next adjourned date, another witness in the matter, the councillor of ward 408 of the Freetown City Council, Sheku Alhassan Gibril Turay, alais “IST” testified before the Principal Magistrate Mark Ngegba.
The two term councilor from the opposition, All People’s Congress (APC), said on the 17th September, 2022, he was together with the Mayor to attend an invitation by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York, United States.
Turay, who said he is also the Chairman of the Development Urban Planning Committee of FCC, said they were at the VIP Lounge of Lungi Airport in the early evening hours when his name was announced that he should report to the immigration service personnel.
Turay said he voluntarily went to the place and met the Local Unit Commander (LUC), CSP James Foday, who asked him to accompany him to the Airport Police Post with no reason given except that he was told that when he reached the post he would be informed of the details. According to him, his cell phone was taken away from him by the CSP Foday and team.
The witness said he was denied the opportunity to make a call by LUC because he wanted to inform the mayor about the issue while they were taking him to the police post. Turay said while in police custody he requested from one of the two police personnel at the post, to call the Mayor but he was instead allowed to send a text message.
Turay said he informed the Mayor of his arrest and the Mayor then came to the police post, but could not see him in the room where he was held so he had to call out the Mayor’s name to alert her to his location.
The councilor said Mayor Aki-Sawyerr asked him why he was arrested but he told her he couldn’t tell and that the Mayor also asked him if he was issued with a warrant of arrest, to which he responded by saying no.
According to the witness, the mayor asked the two police personnel for the most senior officer at the station and was referred to LUC, James Foday. He said he couldn’t tell whether the mayor was taken to see the LUC.
Turay also told the court that he later overheard the mayor saying if there was nobody to talk to she would go on Facebook live.
According to him, he was in the room when he heard the Mayor, who was outside posting on Facebook live saying that she was about to travel to the USA with councilor IST, and that after the immigration protocol, about 15 minutes to take off, police arrested the councilor without a warrant.
During cross examination by state prosecutor Yusuf Isaac Sesay asked the witness whether he wasn’t told that his arrest was in connection with the August 10 protest. The witness denied being told anything.
The case resumes on Monday 13th February this year.
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