Deceased brother testifies
November 30, 2015 By Hawa Amara
Senior brother of murder victim David Sydney Buckle, aka DJ Clef, has testified at the trial of three persons accused of gruesomely murdering the popular disc jockey.
Alexandra Kwaku Buckle told the Freetown High Court, presided by Justice Alusine Sesay, that on 29 May, 2015 at around 5pm he was informed by one Donald Duncan that his junior brother had gone missing.
He said he immediately contacted other family members who also confirmed that they the deceased had gone missing.
He said they went to the residence of the deceased and met his friends Tunde Scot and Claudius Conteh, who informed them that the deceased had not been seen since they left a party.
The party was hosted by Avril Oredola Renner, one of the accused persons, at the home of her co-accused, herbalist Mbaimba Moi Foray, aka LA Chocolate.
“I asked Claudius and Tunde to lead us to the house of the third accused [Renner]. On our arrival we asked after the 3rd accused but we were told she was not within although she came out from the house later,” said Buckle.
He said when the third accused was informed about the disappearance of the deceased she shouted ‘Jesus!’ and told them that the deceased had bade her farewell when he was leaving the party.
He said they went to the Aberdeen Police Station and reported the matter and that the Police obtained statement from them, adding that while at the station they saw the first accused on a motorbike heading towards Lumley.
He continued that on 31 May, 2015 he and other family members, including one Aunty Joy Tucker again went to the Aberdeen Police Station.
He said while at the station, Aunty Joy Tucker received a phone call and that few minutes later a man named Cyril Harold Smith arrived at the Police Station.
He said Aunty Joy Tucker informed Smith about their missing relative, and that Smith informed her about a video clip which he later gave to the Aberdeen Police on 1 June.
He said on 10 June at around 9am, he received a call from former Director of CID to accompany detectives to the Pa Loko Ebola cemetery at Waterloo, where an autopsy was conducted on the deceased.
He said that at the cemetery Dr. Owizz Koroma ordered that the corpse be exhumed, adding that it was wrapped in a cloth.
Acting Director of Public Prosecution, Suliaman A. Bah, applied for an adjournment to enable the formal witness to produce the cloth in which the deceased was said to have been wrapped in.
Another witness, senior secondary school pupil, Sonita Kargbo told to the court that she attended a birthday party on 22 May, 2015 on the invite of the third accused at the home of the first accused in Aberdeen, west of Freetown.
She told the court that she lives in the same compound with the third accused who is a tenant in her aunt’s number 2 Momoh Drive, Juba Hill residence.
She testified that she and other ladies – Khadija,Mummy, Delma, Oseh – cooked the food for the party, adding that the party commenced at 9 pm.
She said she joined other guests at the party in the pool after the celebrant announced it was time to party in the pool.
She said she could not quite remember everyone in the pool, but she saw the third accused, Abigail, Delma and Khadijah in the pool.
During cross-examination by defence counsel for the second accused, the witness said she first met the second accused at the party.
I.P. Mammie, counsel for the third accused, submitted that the court should take note of the fact that the witness had testified that his client left the venue of the party together with the witness and others, and that from Aberdeen to Momoh drive the third accused did not disembark from the vehicle they had ridden in.
However, the witness emphasised that she did not sleep in the same room with the third accused as the live in separate apartments in the same compound.