Barbarity and cannibalism at the trial of Liberian rebel leader Kunti Kamara
Ulimo fighters, of which Kunti Kamara is a member, October 27, 1992. (Illustration).
AFP - ALAIN BOMMENEL
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
At the trial of the former commander of the Ulimo rebels who fought at the time of Charles Taylor, the particularly sordid murder of David Ndeminin was discussed this Monday, October 17 before the Paris Assize Court.
Kunti Kamara is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity, acts of torture and barbarity during the civil war in Liberia.
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A direct witness came to the stand on Monday recounting
the horror scenes
committed in Foya, in the northeast of Liberia between 1993 and 1994. Jasper was an accountant in college.
He told how David Ndeminin had suffered a real ordeal.
The teacher had reported to a Swedish NGO that Ulimo,
the movement of Kunti Kamara
, had looted and destroyed the church and the hospital.
The rebels learned of this, arrested and beat David Ndeminin.
“
They accused him of being a traitor,
told the witness before the Paris Assize Court.
He was screaming in pain.
"
Then they put him through the Tabé torture by tying his elbows behind his back to make his chest stick out, like a duck
," Jasper explained.
A rebel nicknamed Ugly Boy then cut open his chest with an axe, ripped out his heart before serving it on a plate.
The organ was then sliced and eaten by Ulimo officers.
Kunti Kamara was there throughout and participated, according to the witness.
An atrocious act committed in front of several dozen inhabitants to warn the population of what would happen to them if they betrayed Ulimo.
“
It was beyond comprehension, people were forced to watch.
I'll never forget.
How can you do this to another human being?
asked Jasper who broke down in tears several times during his testimony.
The defense tries to weaken the testimonies
Faced with this,
Kunti Kamara, who has claimed to be innocent
since the start of the trial, continued to deny.
“
Hearing that makes me want to vomit.
I'm a Muslim, I don't even eat pork
,” the former rebel said.
Tells him not to have committed the crimes of which he is accused.
He states that he never met the witnesses who testified against him in the trial.
According to him, there would be behind all this a network in Liberia whose brain would be a local humanitarian official who would have paid these people to testify against him.
With in particular promises to be able to go and live in Europe.
One of the Liberian witnesses living in France, who hosted Kunti Kamara, says he believes in the influence of this network, even if, for the moment, no proof of its existence has been provided.
Kamara's lawyers focus on the differences in witness statements between what may have been said before the investigating judge and what is said today in the assize court.
There are also variations between the versions given by the different witnesses.
They also attacked the French investigation, pointing in particular to the absence of DNA evidence or material evidence which means that, 28 years after the facts, the file is essentially based on these testimonies which the defense is trying to weaken.
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