COURT MARTIAL TRIAL
(EPISODE 10)
7th October 2024.
In the November 26 coup…
I. The brutal killing of the 18 security personnel and the two (2) civilians in the November 26 coup has started showing UGLY EFFECTS on the family members, particularly the spouses and children.
II. Exactly 10 months after the military Chief of Operations, Lieutenant Colonel Wilfred Sao Samai, was brutally killed in an ambush at Murray Town Junction in the wake of the coup, his wife (Mrs. Susan Samai) suddenly passed away on Thursday, 26th September, 2024.
III. Family sources said that on the fateful day, Mrs. Samai was humble and hearty when she visited Connaught Hospital on a business errand. Later, at the hospital, she had a sudden attack and subsequently collapsed and died.
IV. The family sources disclosed that Suzy (as she was popularly called) had suffered from depression since her husband was brutally killed last year in the coup.
In the just concluded court martial trial involving the state versus Staff Sergeant Alhaji Koroma and 26 others, nine (9) accused persons were CONVICTED and JAILED for 120 years each for the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Samai. They include:
1. Staff Sergeant Albert Bassie Conteh (3rd Accused).
2. Staff Sergeant Abu Dauda (4th Accused).
3. Corporal Thalie Marah (5th Accused).
4. Lance Corporal Eustace Neka (8th Accused).
5. Staff Sergeant Idrissa Kallon (9th Accused).
6. Lance Corporal Musa Maligie alias Jambo (13th Accused).
7. Private Abdul Razack Kamara (14th Accused).
8. Sergeant Momoh Kargbo (15th Accused).
9. Staff Sergeant Ibrahim Thorlu Bangura, alias Tiger (21st Accused).
VI. Also, at the High Court trial involving the State versus Amadu Koita and 11 Others, two (2) accused persons, namely, Amadu Koita (1st Accused) and Mohamed Jalloh (2nd Accused), were also convicted and slain with DIFFERENT JAIL TERMS for the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Samai.
VII. In both trials, the prosecution lawyers led by JAK Sesay (Court Martial) and AJM Bockarie (High Court) tendered a plethora of evidence to prove that the accused persons were at the scene of the ambush, and they all took part in the ambush to brutally kill Lieutenant Colonel Wilfred Sao Samai.
VIII. In his testimony at the Court Martial, the 30th Prosecution Witness (PW 30) said he and the deceased Lieutenant Colonel Samai were returning from Wilberforce Barracks and heading to Cockerill Barracks to repel another attack when they were ambushed at Murray Town Junction by assailants.
IX. PW 30 told the Court that his vehicle was blasted with a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bomb. “Consequently, my close bodyguard, Staff Sergeant Nabieu Marrah, was BEHEADED, and his head was smashed beyond recognition with the RPG blast while I sustained a very deep cut at my lower abdomen,” PW 30 said.
X. PW 30 also told the Court that while lying on the floor after dashing out from the vehicle, he saw Lieutenant Colonel Samai crawling before he was brutally shot and killed by the assailants.
XI. When he was also testifying at the Court Martial, the 25th Prosecution Witness (PW 25) said that after Lieutenant Colonel Samai was killed, his vehicle with Registration Number 72 SL 07 was commandeered and driven by the 9th Accused, Staff Sergeant Idrissa Kallon, to launch further operations.
XII. PW 25 told the Court that the said vehicle was one of the vehicles that the assailants later moved with to the country’s custodial center along Pademba Road to set free over 2,000 inmates.
XIII. Moreover, after the coup was apparently unsuccessful, Sorieba Mansaray (one of the master planners of the said coup) was spotted with the said vehicle in a desperate attempt to escape. He was intercepted at Jui by loyal troops.
