The witness, codenamed “X5” to protect him from retaliation, said as soon as Taylor learned that Bockarie had intended to go back home to Sierra Leone, he ordered Yeaten to act. The UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone had begun investigations and Taylor believed that Bockarie might testify against him. “When Yeaten and Bockarie met, he asked Bockarie to take a walk with him to brief him. Bockarie was infamous during the Sierra Leone civil war for brutal tactics, which included amputation, mutilation and rape. This is not the first time a witness has accused Taylor of giving the order to kill Bockarie.
