By Sampson Cole
Sunday July 18, 2004
At the Special Court the statement of the second
Prosecution witness in the RUF trial, read by a member
of the Prosecution, states that after rebels captured
her she was raped and later amputated.
According to
the statement, the witness said that she was living at
Malama with her husband when she learnt about an
attack at Mateboi (two miles from Malama) and they
decided to hide in the bush near Malama with some
other people whom she did not recognize. The date of
the attack she could not recall but said it was before
the January 6 invasion. They were at the bush, when
rebels including child soldiers as young as five; some
in combat and others in civilian clothes, carrying
RPGs, AK47s and cutlasses attacked Batmis.
Unfortunately they were all captured along with her
husband and herself and taken to Batmis. She said that
before they left for Batmis, she was raped by one of
the rebel who captured her while another watched.
At
Batmis she and her husband was given rice and millet
to pound while others were sent to fetch water. Some
of those who went to fetch water escaped and because
of that the rebels then decided to amputate the rest
of them. The rebels then told her that they would kill
her husband and gave her pain that would last forever.
According to her the leader of the group whom she said
was called ?Mosquito’ then ordered that her husband
should be killed and he was chopped-up with a cutlass
in her presence. This ?Mosquito’ she went on, was
tall, slim and speaks Krio and Mende, adding that she
knew he was a big commander. Then both her hands were
chopped off and was told to go to Kabba for new hands.
One rebel then escorted her to a certain point where
she continued in the bush until she met some of her
relatives who took her to Makama village. The rebels
she said were shooting or chopping the civilians apart
including her husband’s family before she left Batmis,
as she has not seen them up to this time. She said
that she was treated at the Makeni Government Hospital
and operated on by ICRC.
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