By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
Buchanan, Liberia- Defendants taking the witness stand in the case concerning the public humiliation and torturing of three women in Sinoe County women say they were mistakenly identified by the commissioner of Johnny town,as their testimony begins here on Wednesday.
The women in Sinoe County were last December were stripped naked and paraded in five towns in that southeastern County, forcing sticks into their private parts.
They were also burned with fire on their entire body, on orders of traditional or “country devil”. And their humiliations and parading through the town, which was video tape, went viral on the Social Media recently.
One of the victims who were tortured died.
The defendants were indicted on the crimes of Murder, gang rape, criminal facilitation, criminal conspiracy and Aggravated assault among others.
The case was transferred from Sinoe County to Grand Bassa County base on change of venue filed by the prosecution or the state. The state said if the case could remain in Sinoe County, they feel that they as state or victims may not have free, fair and impartial trial and the case may also be prejudice by community dwellers.
Judge Joe S. Barkon of the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court is presiding over the ongoing trial.
One of the Defendants testifying in court this week, Mr. Victor Solo denied involvement in any rape or torture. He said that the incident occurred in Johnny Town and that Johnny town is in division one but he lives in Division three in Dejalah.
In his testimony, the witness said that when the incident occurred, the Superintendent of Sinoe County ordered that all the young boys in town should be arrested. And he was at his resident nobody arrested him until his uncle Romeo Kwah aunty died after the burial, he went Dejalah town to ask him why he was not going to work and he Victor Solo told his uncle Kwah that the commissioner wrote his boss at GVL not to go to work because they committed a crime.
Defendant Solo added that it was who escorted him to the police station to clarify himself if he think he was not a part of torturing the women and testified that police arrested and sent to magisterial court and later circuit court in Greenville, Sinoe County.
The defendant further testified that survivors lied on him but he know Angeline Saydee and Florence Tarkley and know his fellow defendants adding that they were born and grew up together and also the deceased Wallet Nyenwuah mother but did not part take in torturing of the women.
He also told the court that while passing through Johnny town, he the traditional people who blocked the road, saying that before he passed he should give them “something” meaning money, which he did and gave them 50LD specifically to Alex Karpeh.
The second Defense witness isaid Dennis Payne Nimely, the missing child is one year four months who was mandated by the community chairman that all young people in the town should go for the missing child in Barh town that it was alleged that the child was there in the “dark world”.
Defendant Nimely added that he saw the deceased, Wallet Nyenwuah earlier and the order sister of wallet is his girlfriend and also saw Wallet’s mother crying, saying my daughter is not witchcraft.
She dispelled claims that her daughter is involved in witchcraft.
He said while Wallet’s mother was crying, they (community police) had already passed with the survivors, Barh town is where the child was allegedly taken to the dark world. The child who went missing is a son of a Kpelleh man who hailed from Lofa County and was in search of a Job.
Defendant Nimely further testified in court that he got involved because he is popular in the area. And he said because he popular in the camp so he was mistakenly picked up and being one of the youth heads, it was traditional people who carried in the bush and killed her.
He also told the open court that he has been knowing Moses Solo to be a dancer and singer but he does not know whether Moses Solo is a country devil. According to him, he was the one who was stopping the angry crowd from harming the women survivors. But he should rather turn them to the police, because if anything happens in the town they could be held accountable.
Finally, Sylvester Cherdy testified that he worked with GVL as a field supervisor and does not know anything what he is on trial today.
Defendant Cherdy said he is not member of traditional people and he does not know the two survivors intact but indicated that the survivors pointed in open court because they influenced.
He told the court that when the incident occurred in Johnny Town he was informed by one of his friends,who called on phone and told him the incident but did not go there because another place far away from Johnny Town.
The defendant in his testimony said he usually passed through Johnny Town on his motorbike, but cannot stop in Johnny town. Rather, he claimed to have been mistakenly identified. He also claimed that he was misquoted in his statement at the police station and that he was never given his constitutional rights. Last week in Buchanan, the mother of the victim who died with the three months old pregnancy said her daughter was 25 years old and she was her last born out of three children and was also staying with her because of their closeness. The deceased mother further added that when the incident occurred she was not to her and in fact she was in the state of confusion because it was her first time of witness such unwholesome act and can still image on that faithful day of December 31,2019.