By Amin Kef Sesay
Family members, musical artists and friends will on Saturday 23rd May 2020 commemorate the fifth remembrance anniversary of the death of Sydney David Buckle who was cold bloodedly murdered and sadly missed by a cross section of the citizenry of this country here and abroad. This date has gone down the annals of history of the murdering of one of the country’s most adored Disc Jockeys and musician who was mourned many.
Sydney David Buckle was widely known as DJ Clef and he was allegedly murdered by Baimba Moi Foray (alias LA Chocolate) and Foday Amara Kamara (alias G-Fag).
The corpse of the deceased was discovered at the Murray Town cemetery. Both accused persons were tried and found guilty on two counts because of circumstantial evidences and the statements of witnesses of conspiracy and murder by the High Court of Sierra Leone Presided over by Justice Alusine Sesay and twelve (12) Panel of Jurors who on Thursday 8th September 2016 sentenced Baimba Moiforay aka L.A Chocolate and Foday Amara Kamara aka G Fag to death by hanging.
However, the 3rd accused person, Avril Orehdola Renner (Oreh), was acquitted and discharged. The three (3) accused persons were in remand while attending trial since their arrest in May 2015.
According to the particulars of offense, the then accused persons in May 2015 allegedly conspired to murder and did murder David Sydney Henry Buckle aka DJ Clef (Deceased) at a birthday party organised by the third accused (Orehdola Renner) in the house of the first accused (LA Chocolate) at Aberdeen, in the West End of Freetown.
Justice Sesay maintained, while giving his judgement in court that “Circumstantial evidence is good and has weight as direct evidence to incriminate anyone. It is evidence of relevant facts which work cumulatively in a geometrical progression to fuse all possibilities of facts. It is not all cases that have to be proven with direct evidence.”
He furthered that the 17 witnesses and 26 exhibits before the court provided circumstantial evidences that link directly to the 1st and 2nd accused and their behaviours during the period of the incident indicating that they were guilty of the crime.
He furthered that the inconsistency in the statements of the accused and failure of defence to provide a solid alibi formed strong evidence against them.
The Judge also mentioned that the missing items from LAC’s house cannot be a coincidence to be found with the deceased when his corpse was discovered at Murray Town cemetery and also the doctors’ reports when the corpse was exhumed stated that the deceased died of unnatural death with part of his body severed connecting it to ritual murder.
What again indicted the accused persons was the fact that certain missing items were found at the scene of crime which included a brown car dust cover, yellow nylon ropes and brown carpet all claimed to have belonged to LAC by his security guard.
Justice Alusine also questioned the behaviour of the 2nd accused, Foday Amara Kamara, alias G-Fag pointing out that he went into hiding, destroyed his sim cards. According to him his behaviour indicated that he was deliberately destroying evidences.
Besides, witnesses who testified in Court said that it was G-Fag who lured them to meet LAC privately at his Gym during the party and also cautioned them not to inform or mention their meeting to anyone but the witnesses said they refused to oblige to the caution.
It was also established in court that it was G-Fag who stopped the party goers from entering into the main house and also stopped the security guard from entering into the premises after the party to cause a diversion.
When sentencing both of them, Justice Alusine Sesay, noted that for conspiracy both accused are sentenced to 25 yrs imprisonment and for murder they are sentenced to death by hanging furthering that murder is a substantive offence and its constitutional penalty is death.
It is expected that, on Saturday, friends most of whom are musicians and family members will organise some form of memorial program for the late Sydney David Buckle aka DJ Clef.
