Sam Hinga-Norman, 66 years old, the most famous of the defendants effectively on trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone, where other figures from the 1990 civil war have for various reasons been absent, has been on the stand testifying since January 24. "Chief Norman" was serving as Minister of the Interior when he was arrested on March 10, 2003 [see IJT interview published at the end of 2003] on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Considered by many to be a hero, he fought in the bloody RUF rebellion, coordinating the Civil Defense Forces (CDF) until their victory in 2002. At the time, Norman was a supporter of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who was democratically elected in 1996. Norman asked the court to call Kabbah - "my boss, the Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and the President of Sierra Leone," as Norman insisted on calling him in court - to testify in his trial. Norman reminded the judges that in 1997, four ambassadors had come knocking at his door while he was living in exile in Guinea, according to the Irin agency. An American, a Brit, a Nigerian and the special representative for Sierra Leone brought him to see Kabbah. The diplomats had said that a condition of ECOMOG's support was that Norman had to rally to the president's orders. Norman went on to say that the president had appointed him to head up the CDF that same day. Norman described himself as "the first child soldier" enlisted into the colonial British army in 1954, when he was just 14. Through his testimony, he is attempting to show that not only did he help restore Kabbah to power in 1998, but he also played a decisive role in restoring peace. Peter Penfold, former British high commissioner to Sierra Leone, and high-ranking British officer John Reilly, have allegedly confirmed their intent to testify on Norman's behalf, their lawyers told Awareness Times on January 25.