Detective Superintendent of police 4645 Alhaji Brima Gaima, attached to joint presidential task force at state house is the Fifth prosecution witness to testify in the ongoing Treason Trail between Rtd. Alfred Palo Conteh and two others.
Gaima whose duties are to protect life and properties, VIPs and their environment and to maintain law and order, told the court on Monday that he was on duty on 19th March 2020 at the first floor of State House when he was instructed by his boss to tell the security personnel at the reception that there is going to be a meeting, which he did.
He said after conveying the message he stood in front of the reception desk, near a step that leads to the floor of the President.
Gaima said while standing observing visitors as they come in, he saw the first accused person bypass the scanner using the passage between the metal detector and a wall and stand by the wooden door after the scanner, for minutes with a brown bag in his hand.
He furthered that the first accused was intercepted three times by the scanning operator and asked him why he refused to scan his bag, and that was the time the first accused moved down the stairs, held his bag up and handed it over to Staff Sergeant Dauda, informing him that he has a weapon in it.
Gaima said the first accused later ran up the stairs to the first floor, after he had handed over the bag. The bag was scanned and they found out that there was a pistol in the brown bag.
He said security authorities were later informed about what transpired on the ground floor.
During Cross examination by Lawyer Joseph F. Kamara, Gaima told the court that with his two years at State House he has never seen someone bypass the scanner.
Gaima also informed the court that only the president and Vice president’s security personnel are authorized to enter State House with weapon.
Giama said he was not aware of any CCTV camera at state house or a room that monitors such because his role is not to look at cameras but to observe.
Lawyer Kamara asked the witness when was the last time he spoke with the prosecution, on the basis that the prosecution cannot continue to speak with witnesses after they have been listed on the indictment and have not testified in court
Prosecution Lawyer, Adrian Fisher objected that there is no evidence in court that says the prosecution has been speaking to witnesses and it is unfair for the defence to cast aspersions on the prosecution.
Lawyer Kamara also responded that he is not asking the witness about the nature of the conversation he had with the prosecution but the question is just to know whether the witness has been speaking with the prosecution.
Presiding Judge, Justice Momo- Jah Stevens ruled that if the witness so wishes he can tell when was the last time that he had a conversation with the prosecution without going into the nature of the conversation, adding that he is of the belief that no professional legal personnel will tell his or her clients what and what not to say in court.
Gaima told the court that he did not talk to any of the prosecuting team.
Lawyer Kamara furthered during his cross examination that the witness has told the court that he was in front of the reception desk but at the magistrate court he had said he was on the stairs.
He asked the witness which of the statements does he want the court to believe? Gaima said they should believe what he has told them at the High Court.
Lawyer Kamara told the court that the witness’s statement cannot be reliable, because it keeps on changing “like a chameleon.”
Lawyer Kamara applied that they will be needing three of the witnesses that have testified in the matter, including Gaima after the locust visit at state house.
So far ten witnesses have testified in this case. Yesterday the eighth witness was Detective Police 13835 Issa Sesay who testified about an investigation which he conducted on the first accused, and for which the file was with the Director of Public Prosecution.
The Defence objected that the said matter was not charged and that it was only an investigation.
The ninth witness Joseph Bockarie Noah the Chief investigator at the Anti Corruption Commission testified that the first accused was investigated on an alleged breach of procurement procedures, and the investigation has been going on for the past eighteen months.
The tenth witness was Fatmata Deen Kamara, Head of Fire Arms Licensing Bureau at the Small Arms Commission.
