NTNews.com.au
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Ibrahim Ibrahim, who now lives in Darwin, said Mr Kelly was attacked by warlord Hassan Gutaale Abdul as he tried to escape from the court that had sentenced him to death.
"Gutaale tried to run away from the court. Mike Kelly actually subdued him," Mr Ibrahim said.
"People were trying to infiltrate the court so that they could help let him go."
He said Mr Kelly frog-marched Gutaale to prison, using his bayonet to ward off Gutaale's supporters.
Mr Ibrahim said Mr Kelly was loved and respected in the village of Baidoa, where 40 per cent of the population had been killed in a genocide, after he set up a court that sentenced Gutaale to death.
"He was the most popular man in the state ... Gutaale had killed a lot of locals," Mr Ibrahim said.
Mr Kelly said a rumour that he pulled the trigger at Gutaale's execution had been dismissed after an Australian Defence Force investigation. He said he was at the execution to ensure it was legal and secure.
Mr Kelly's military career has been called into question in a dispute over indexation of military pensions. Critics claimed his service was behind a desk, but he has said he used his bayonet to "stick" the mob that tried to free Gutaale.