(JollofNews) – Exactly one month ago, the former head of the Gambia Armed Forces, Col Baboucar Jatta, declined to tell this newspaper about the vexed circumstances surrounding the death and disappearance of at least 52 migrants, mainly Ghanaians, in The Gambia in July 2005.
Reacting to charges that agents of the Gambian state killed them, Jatta, who was then the Minister for the Interior said the government of President Jammeh said it did not know what happened and that he was not going to spill any beans. However he said, were he to be called at the truth commission, he would tell them what he knew.
The commission, TRRC, is yet to be fully empanelled and start work in earnest but The Standard investigative team has become privy to the testimonies of some Gambian soldiers who were involved in the killings.
Among them is Staff sergeant Omar A Jallow, a native of Chogen village, North Bank Region and a member of former president Jammeh’s hit squad, the Junglers, who is in the custody of Gambian authorities. He told military and police investigators that sometime in July 2005, while he was in Kanilai, Lt Col Solo Bojang, a senior Jungler, informed his guard commander, Cpl Adama Saidy, that he [Jallow] was needed to escort 52 people from Banjul to Kanilai.
He narrated: “We left for Banjul on board a pick-up driven by Buba Jallow and the soldiers on board were myself, Warrant Officer Fansu Nyabally and Solo Bojang. We came up to a coconut area where we found those people secured by the PIU officers.
We first took 15 people out of the lot to Kanilai and handed them over to Sanna Manjang and returned back for the second trip which was also 15 people to Kanilai and handed them over again, but within the shortest time, I heard sound of gun shots and the next day [senior Jungler Lt Col] Sanna Manjang told me he killed them and dropped their death body [sic] in a well.”
Staff Sgt Jallow told investigators, others were killed by Kawsu Camara (Bombardeh), Mbye Lowe, Musa Badjie and Major Sarjo Jarju and their dead bodies were found at Ghana Town, Brufut.
Jallow said the previous year, 2004, he was trained by the Italian, Francisco, to become a Jungler together with Brig General Umpa Mendy, Major Nuha Badjie, Captain Musa Sanneh and Mbarra Mboob. He said his first assignment as a Jungler was the torture of the Muslim cleric, Ba Kawsu Fofana and another marabout, unnamed, who he said was accused by Gen Saul Badjie of plotting a coup.
Sgt Jallow who admitted taking part in other killings including the suffocation to death of the nine death row inmates from Mile 2 Prisons, said Sanna Manjang also informed him that he [Manjang] killed one Haruna Jammeh and that President Jammeh allegedly impregnated a lady by the name ‘Mariama’ resident at Hamza Barracks in Banjul and when her husband started “making noise”, one Malick Boye killed them “to keep silence”.
Investigators said the 52 migrants, 42 of whom were Ghanaians, were “fallaciously” taken as hostile by Jammeh and his henchmen and their arrest and execution by the Junglers were ordered.
The current president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, was the then Foreign Minister, visited Banjul and engaged the Gambian authorities on several occasions about the fate of his compatriots.
In 2010, following the submission by the UN and Ecowas, of a report on their findings into the deaths of the migrants, The Gambia government made “a donation” of US$500,000 in cash to the families of the dead Ghanaians, “towards their burial and funeral rites”.
The Ghanaian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni, told parliament at the time: “…although the [UN/Ecowas] report did not fully address the concerns of both sides, the Governments of Ghana and The Gambia agreed to accept the findings and recommendations of the panel, and work together to bring a closure to that unfortunate tragedy, and strive to restore normalcy to their bilateral relations.”
Written Baba Sillah
Source: http://standard.gm/site/2018/03/02/jungler-explains-death-45-ghanaians-others/
Quote “Jatta, who was then the Minister for the Interior said the government of President Jammeh said it did not know what happened and that he was not going to spill any beans. However he said,” – Babucarr Jatta would be Army Chief of staff, I think, not Interior minister…?
Babu Soli; what do you say here (after reading this piece); imagine (/create an image in your mind’s eyes) if one of these aforementioned victims here-in were a loved one, family &/ friend of yours (Babu’s); & not to mention, if you (Babu, indeed) happens to be the (direct) victim yourself…
Why can’t all humans beings be accorded the sacrosanctity humanity deserves (both in life & equally, as well, in death) & live civil, to debate & opine, to disagree &/ agree, on (general) communal societal issues in diversity, which are but (& must be) of (equal) concerns of all (citizenry & sub/regional neighbours) in peaceful harmonious coexistence; while we strive to endeavour to impact, catalyse & improve upon realistic nation building for societal advancement for all humans beings regardless; where mandatory leaderships changes hands (accordance with collective voice of peasantry population) in maturity on merits, etc etc etc….
Human beings, (naturally) already have (been) assigned responsibilities entrusted devinely; (just as Truth; in reality) these responsibilities (at any stages/times) will always make us be accounted to our Creator God (SWT) at some point, in a (one) way &/ another….
Bajaw
What is left for him to say that he hadn’t said already. He had already justified all Jammeh’s killings and brutalities of our people for the last 22 years. Evil men are born evil and no education, location or position can redeem them from being evil. Yahya Jammeh is an evil man so is most of his die hard supporters.They are all evil cowards that is why they are hiding in Equatorial Guinea and the surrounding environs. Real warriors fight to the last bullet but not hurriedly flee with expensive cars into exile.
All these crimes are Yaya Jammeh’s crimes. These junglers will not go ahead and killed without yaya jammehs orders, he’s very much aware of it. These are the problems for 22years. Yaya would been a private citizen today in Gambia after lost the election had he not killing people’s unlawfully. He would be like former president jawara. This idiot don’t know that killing one person in Gambia unlawfully is a national crime, gambian people don’t like to see blood, this is because we are integrated, interconnected and bonds together. Yaya jammeh don’t follow the rules of law and he feels he is above the laws, there he made fool of himself,and he must face justice.
Natty sister; I’m sure Babu would be different, if (say) Mercie Jammeh (God bless her & we all), were a (his own) sister, for example; nothing warrants kanilai yaya Evileness wanton murder of innocent lives in particular in abhorrence for whatsoever reasons, Babu….
Yaya Jammeh will never be at peace anywhere(in life &/ death); either in current equator runaway in hiding, & in a (5*)Mile Two prison soon, hopefully, after Truth & Reconciliation Commission; /(in another) prison somewhere else, &/ in the Hereafter; in Accountance to the Creator (SWT); yes, surely Natty Dread, Babu, can’t deny…
Bajaw,
Do I have to believe this incoherent story because Bajaw believes in all printed information or because it’s a narrative from someone whom”everyone” has to believe in? I’m not so cheap or easy to sway. Perhaps Bajaw was present at the scene of those “killings”. Thus your firm conviction.
Oh, I never knew the Ghanaian government received $500,000 to conduct their burial and funeral rites!
Under such circumstances, what were the reports of the forensic doctors of the corpses? Such a misconstrued story cannot be promptly accepted by any sane minded person without a tangible, reliable, authoritative and conclusive finding.
If you believe you can report or judge for Allah The Almighty (SWT), so be it Bajaw, the demi-god. However, the fate of His Creatures here and the hereafter are far beyond the ordinary human thinking of Babu Soli.
I presume you know what President Jammeh’s fate it. Please tell me!
Bajaw
He scavenged for any twisted narrative from any source to impugn the good names of hardworking, patriotic and decent members of President Barrow’s government in defense of the Kanilai heartless beast, believing in any story incoherent it may be, unbalanced it may be, untruthful it may be and even unreliable the source may be but wouldn’t believe a narrative narrated by the perpetrator himself because the perpetrator was ordered by Yahya Jammeh to perpetrate such ungodly acts. What a hypocrite, what a dishonest self deluding fool. Who would deny the gruesome nature of the deaths of the Ghanaians because the story is misconstrued but can claim that 800 Gambians were killed by the ”invading Senegalese soldiers” in 1981 during the first Jola inspired uprising against a democratic elected government. Was this fool present at the scene of those killings? What made him to accept such fallacy without a tangible, reliable, authoritative and conclusive findings? or insane minded fools like himself are excused to accept what they liked and what they don’t. TRUTH WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL OVER FALSEHOOD.
Babu Soli, this is pathetic and disgusting from you. What forensic evidence do you want on a matter that has been well established? Please, be considerate and avoid adding insults to injury.
Natty Dread has pointed out what you truly are: a hypocrite with a very cold heart. The type that would be a “perfect Jungler” (if there’s any such thing) and serve Jammeh very well, without remorse.
I’m wondering if you’re not a Jungler on the run. Just wondering because your mindset is exactly what Jammeh’s ideas would create in a naive mind.
I did said this before, Babu Soli is a prankster, he sounds like yaya jammeh or one of his close aides, every issues arise he will counter attacks, some one like this, should be investigated.
Babu, Kawsu Camara (Bombardier), in particular, have confided in colleagues about “finishing off” the Ghanaian & other nationals travellers just (shortly) after the brutal killings…
Why would yaya Killer Devil pay money to Ghana if (material) evidences weren’t conclusive…?
For God’s (SWT) judgement on human beings; I was only inferring on the noble teachings of the Qur’anic & Islamic religion…
The fact is, Gambia will seek to extradite yaya Evileness Jammeh after the Truth & Reconciliation commission for (our mortal) prosecution & redress while here on earth; while God, the real Judge, will complete the rest when we depart to the Hereafter; “where no one can deny whatsoever one deliberated into while here on earth”….
These aren’t Bajaw’s own invention but what the Qur’an says…
Bax, Bajaw,
Stop reiterating your pathetic nonsenses all the time. I have on several occasions told you that these allegations which I term false, until genuinely proven by the courts, will NEVER be considered credible by Babu Soli. Continue your classifications, categorizations about me. That’s your problem, I’m accustomed to it. I care less!
My stance remains firm, though it has very little impact on the trend of the matters, that until proven beyond reasonable doubts, all these are smearing allegations and false allusions on somebody(President Jammeh) who is not in anyway defending himself.
If that hurts anybody, well I may say sorry about that, but I wish to affirm that I observe the rule of law and democratic dispensation before any other matter.
This is really BAD! How can we look in the mirror and not feel a sense of responsibility or complicity in these terrible crimes. We have Gambians shamelessly on this platform either denying, justifying or supporting some of these barbaric acts. These same Gambians will go home and play with their grandchildren and make a huge show of the required daily prayers. If you have been lying to yourself, know this, you are very much as guilty as Yahya Jammeh in his crimes, because of your passive or active support of his regime. No good Muslim does that.
That is unfortunately a culture entrenched during the 22 years of Jammeh’s barbaric rule. A holy Quran in one hand and a sword in the other proclaiming what a pious Muslim he was while impregnating our young daughters by night and discarding their dead bodies to stop the stories ever coming out by morning. The irony of Jammeh’s die hard supporters affirming their observance of the rule of law and democratic dispensation while shamelessly denying, justifying, glorifying and rejoicing at such ungodly acts is beyond human comprehension. To call these reprehensible, barbaric and ungodly acts against our people by Jammeh and his band of evil men smear allegations is a testament of how evil penetrated our people, our nation under Jammeh. When is a true born Gambian immune to such cruel acts? Is the killing of Deyda Hydara, the innocent protesting students, Marcie Jammeh and her brother, Solo Sandeng, Ndure cham, the two Gambian Americans etc, etc and the disappearance of Chief Manneh, Ebou Lowe and many other countless Gambians a smear allegation and false allusions? The 149 landed properties, 14 Companies, countless bank accounts and a 30 million Dollar mansion a smear allegation and false allusion? Is the astronomical withdrawals from the Central Bank on behalf of Jammeh and his evil accomplices a smear allegations and false allusions? Are those in this platform glorifying Jammeh’s crimes true born Gambians? true Muslims? or they are just a ”Yahya Jammeh double” a true Muslim by day but idol worshipper by night, A sheikh by day but an impregnator of young girls by night. A faked ass professor by day but an evil killer by night. A democrat on the lips but an aid and abet in chief of dictatorship. Those who think that their stance of lies and falsehood is firm forgot to realize that castles can never be built in the air. Jammeh will one day pay for his crimes against humanity.
This story has been circulating online for many years/ In fact it is almost a carbon copy of the original posted on Freedom newspaper circa 2009/
That said; there is no shadow of doubt that many travellers met with wholesale murder. Was this a back way scam that had death as its final pay off ? Did those, involved convince Jammeh that it was an attempted coup? I think as before that if those with or without true knowledge of what is the truth in this matter, hope to trade false information in exchange for impunity from prosecution/// we have to view such contentious speculation with a very careful eye.
My extended sympathy to all the familes,,,,long sufferings.
The welcomed return of Mike Scales. Nice to see you back.
Mike,
Welcome.
“we have to view such contentious speculation with a very careful eye”.
That’s an honourable last slot on your posting. That’s where I personally differ with the pre-judgement criteria of some contributors.
Unless we have a full account of what went wrong, unless there is a genuine and unrefutable judgement of the case, impartial democrats like Babu just don’t jump into the ” pre-judgement bandwagon”.
1. There is no “contentious speculations” about the brutal death of West African citizens, mostly Ghanaians, in The Gambia. It is a FACT. It happened under the watch of Yaya Jammeh.
2. There is no speculation to the fact that the Jammeh regime paid a considerable amount of compensation to families of the dead Ghanaians, after concluding talks with the Ghanaian authorities. Dr Njogu Bah, Secretary General at the time (I believe) attested to this fact before the Janneh Commission.
3. The Jammeh regime should have fully investigated the incident and published its findings to avoid any “contentious speculations”, if it had nothing to hide. Failure to do so speakd for itself.
4. Col. Babucar Jatta (rtd), perhaps the CDS at the time, said he wasn’t going to spill the beans, unless he is summoned by the TRC; meaning that he knows something which is not in line with the official version of ignorance about the deaths.
All these point to one thing: the deaths were sanctioned at the highest levels of government, and in the Jammeh regime, that could only mean ONE PERSON: Yaya Jammeh.
Thankyou Dr Sarr and Mr Soli for your greetings/ I have been rather poorly/
Bax/ What is actually true and what is self guided and survival motivated through the T&R Commission is a matter of speculation and personal opinion/
It would be much better if those involved were outside the T&R and facing due process/ But that is just my opinion/ These are serious crimes that stain the reputation of a whole nation.
Killers are just “deadly” especially when supported, sponsored and commanded by a deadly ruthless nincompoop of a dictator. Such dictators’ enablers and clique obviously will refer to comments like mine as “reactionary” and “partial”. Whatever such terms may imply….
No doubt, this is the time for perpetrators and accomplices to state atrocities to deploy terms like “prejudgement” and “impartial democrats”
Come on …., but naturally, every Gambian cannot be a victim to those terrible state atrocities because without the existence of blood gulping murderers and looters, we might not have had this trouble of resolving were unmarked graves all around the country are. If they were really soldiers or state security personnel who really understand the oath of their duties; that they should sacrifice their own life’s to safe that of civilians, all those who took part in murdering citizens would all come forward to confess.
On the deportation of 400 Gambians from the USA, Freedom Newspaper 8th March 2018
These people don’t want to come back home in such a manner. Some have lived, studied and worked in the USA for years. They are lucratively adding on to the Gambian family and national economies. Some are not ready to leave yet taking into account the businesses, educational pursuits, jobs and other plans they have yet to accomplish and improve.
If it were not the stupid, nefastous, fearful decision of the present INCOMPETENT Adama Barrow administration that gave the Green light to Europe and the USA to deport our people, this horrendous nightmare for the deportes would not have taken place.
Those welcoming the unfateful deportees are heartless and hypocritical. Do you think the Barrow administration that is trading away the livelihood of our country and her citizens to the outside world would come out to condemn these deportations? No!
To re-start and settle, even in one’s own homeland is an assidous task, much more when conditions under the Barrow INEPT administration are horrifying.
We need the services of some of these fellow countrywomen/men from outside the Gambia. Not all Gambians have to live within the perimtres of the country to generate development. Some will definitely have to live outside to make their positive contribution. Where that is availed, why deport them? One should only return on one’s own decision, desire and will. But when you have a neocolonialist bunch of selfish incompetent people at the helm of your national matters, you will indeed suffer. That’s what we are witnessing in The Gambia today.