BIG, BIG PEOPLE KILLED ALLISON

Fourth Witness Explains

The fourth prosecution’s witness in the criminal case Liberia vs. H. Dan Morias and others took the stand Tuesday. The witness, Ophelia Williams told the court that the victim, a pregnant woman, Tumu Yoaude Allison was murdered by big, big people.

Ten prominent citizens of Maryland County are behind bars at the Monrovia Central Prison Compound on allegations of murder.

Witness Williams, who declined naming some of the big, big people allegedly involved in the killing of the lady, told the court that on November 24 2009, Harper City was upside down during the morning of that day.

The witness noticed that people were running to Lake Shepherd based on information that an empty canoe was floating over the lake.

The next day, which was on the 25^th day of November 2009, witness Williams told the court, that early that morning, people were rushing to the same Lake Shepherd saying they have found a corpse.

“The people were so many, but all the citizens were there. Later, the body was taken to the J. J. Dossen Memorial Hospital,” Witness Williams told the court.

In the second week of January, 2010, witness Williams informed the court that information spread around that the Blayjay People were going to the Superintendent of Maryland County to give the names of the people, who killed the deceased.

With this news, as a citizen, the witness averred that she took upon herself and went to the palace, where a meeting was being held.

She explained that when the Superintendent asked the Blayjay People to disclose the names of the perpetrators; the Blayjay People informed the Superintendent that the crowd was too many and that they were afraid to call the names of the killers among the crowd.

Witness told the court that five men came out and named William Wallace, Amigo Nugba, Mleh Marian, with other big, big people.

“When I got at the parking station in Pleebo, the city was upside down to get car it was very hard and as what is going on. They said at the parking station that they are catching the Gboyo People in Harper City, there where we are going. Being that I myself wanted and actually to see who all were doing this killing in Harper, I myself  board the car for Harper, where I live,” she added.

The third witness, Baway Jidikan, a supervisor at the Presidential Palace in Maryland County, testified on Monday that it was January, 2010, when he was entering the palace fence, as he got down from a motorbike to open the gate, he saw the County Inspector, Hodo Clarke, one of the defendants standing there.

Witness Jidikan told the court that defendant Clarke spoke to him and asked him for a lift on his motorbike, but he informed him (Clarke) that the bike did not have sufficient gasoline.

“I left him standing there; I went to open the gate of the palace. When I came back from opening the gate, Hodo Clarke was still standing there, where I left him. So I asked what happened. He said to me that the woman saw the people at the lake that was using the canoe where this woman was killed. There where he was going to see the woman at the Pastoral Center, “Witness Jidikan said.

The ten defendants, who were arrested based on a juju man’s findings, have pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder, criminal conspiracy and criminal facilitation.

The trial continues today at Criminal Court “B” at the Temple of Justice. The prosecution of perceived ritualistic killers in Maryland County started as far back as 1976, when the Liberian government hanged some citizens of that county that were found guilty of the act.

Since the arrest and subsequent detention of Mr. Morias and others, Maryland County has been the scene of mass protests by some of the citizens, calling on the Government of Liberia to immediately release the accused.

President Ellen Johnson –Sirleaf’s Special envoy at large, Mr. Morias was arrested on  Monday, February 12, 2011, by court officers, after he had gone to the Temple of Justice to attend to some business.