A former minister in the erstwhile government of Yahya Jammeh who is being tried for the murder in 1995 of Finance Minister Ousman Koro Ceesay had never participated in his killing, a former Spokesman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) has revealed.
Former Army Captain Ebou Jallo, who was the first person to give a detail account on the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of Ceesay, said his former colleague had never ‘premeditated’ nor ‘participated’ in the gruesome murder.
State prosecutors in the Gambia have accused Touray of hitting Ceesay with a pestle like object and other dangerous objects, thereby causing his death in June 1995 in Kololi Village, West Coast Region.
But former Jallo, who had repeatedly expressed his willingness to give evidence at the ongoing truth commission ‘in the pursuit of the truth and justice in the Gambia in order to set the record straight about what really happened to Ousman Koro Ceesay’ but is yet to be invited, criticised the decision to charged Yankuba Touray with a crime he never committed in the hey days of former spokesman of the AFPRC, which toppled the Jawara government in 1994 and ruled the Gambia until 1997.
He said it is wrong to charge Touray when the people who actually murdered the former Finance minister are living freely and going about their normal businesses.
“Prosecute Yankuba with 50% chance of sending him to prison for life…Then what? He was present at the scene but neither did he premeditate nor participate in the murder,” Jallo wrote on his Facebook page.
“The real callous murderers Edward Singharteh, Peter Singhateh, Alagie Kanyi are all free and would lie their way with a gullible TRRC for some pathetic “amnesty”. Who lost…? We the Gambians and especially Koro’s Family. We shall never ever find out the whole truth about Koro’s death “and bring closure to one of the darkest chapters of our national history. Wrath is evil and it never heals.”
In another post, Jallo added: “The only person who knows why Koro was murdered was Edward Singhateh. He is the one that had an altercation with him before he was murdered.
“Edward Singhateh, as minister of Defense, procured some weapons around October 1994 from an Israeli arms dealer called Serge Muller, and there was a discrepancy that Koro realized when he was trying to reconcile the government accounts for the first budget after the 1994 coup. If you prosecute Yanks the truth will never ever be known to Gambians…”
Ceesay’s remains were discovered in a burnt out vehicle. Investigations by police at the time attributed it to a freak vehicular accident and ruled out any foul play.
Investigators said they believe the Sedan Benz he was driving had hit a little bridge on a country road behind Jambur village at speed before catching fire and killing him.
However, former soldiers who have appeared at the truth commission have alleged that Ceesay was invited to Touray’s residence in Kololi where he was set upon and killed by some other council members including Touray.
Gambia’s Attorney General and minister of Justice Abubacarr Tambadou had took it upon himself to charge Touray with the murder following his refusal to incriminate himself at the truth commission.
The minister has vowed to come down heavily on Touray and to make an example of him ‘so that those who are even imagining that they could do something like this and get away with it will think twice about it.’
Why do people like Ebou Jallow always try to confuse Gambians. If he has any evidence of the murder of Koro why wait until now to attempt to save Yanks. Even the behaviour of the former junta minister in front of the TRRC is punishable by law let alone providing pestles, sticks and batts used in battering Koro to death are enough to prove his participation in the murder.
Was ebou jallow present at the murder scene to prove that yanks didn’t participate. How can a murder take place in your compound without you being and accessory in your present. Shut up ebou jallow. You are very stupid.
Alex,
I don’t understand why Gambians are fond of preemptive judgements. The RADIO KANKANG style of “hear and believe”.
Inspite of the millions of Jews murdered in the Holocaust, inspite of the thousands of living victims, the Nurumberg special courts had months of hearings, thousands of justified testimonies, defences before making any rulings.
Let’s see if Yankuba is given a fair hearing.
At the moment, his rights have been abused by Tambedou and the CORRUPT Barrow administration. It’s very simple to pay lipservice to democracy and freedom and another thing to uphold democratic principles.
The present CORRUPT administration is vengeful, undemocratic and full of antagonism. I see them sitting on the bench after their term for flagrant abuse of authority.
At least, he was accorded his freedom and right to his properties by this government; a privilege he and fellow coupists did not accord PPP Officials.
We recall how they were hunted down, humiliated by being transported in open trucks, abused (by being denied their personal hygiene) and tortured, even before they were brought before any commission or court.
You (Babu), who still profess love and support for that regime, should be the last to criticise the handling of Mr Touray’s case. You do not share our ideals of a new Gambia because you are still in love with the old, and are probably working to resurrect it.
Babu you are an ignorant idiot
Mr touray, safety matters that’s why he was removed from his residence. If not he will be attacked and possibly kill by some mobs. Koro Cesay murder is a serious crime and yankubas home was use to carry out this crime and concealed, if he said he is unaware of it, then he has to face legal proceeding and scrutiny until all the facts comes out, we have to remember someone was cold blooded murder and cover up took place to conceal evidence.
I don’t know what additional evidence the state possesses to charge Mr Touray with the murder of Ousman Koro Ceesay at this point, because it is doubtful whether a conviction for a murder charge can be secured soly on the evidence given at the TRRC.
In circumstances like this, prudence requires prosecutors to go with a lesser charge that is sure to secure a conviction (like refusing to testify at the TRRC), get the individual behind bars and continue their investigations to get concrete evidence for whatever further crimes they wish to charge the individual with. Failure to do that is a recipe for another lost case and defeat for government.
Ba Tambedou’s position, as Justice Minister, will be untenable if he loses a second case against Mr Touray. So the odds are also stacked against the Minister, as he is running out of time.
It seems the floodgates to compensation claims against the Gambian State has been opened, as another family is reported to have sued The Gambia Government at the ECOWAS Court (Abuja, Nigeria) for the disappearance of their loved one.
This is the negative side of the reported compensation of millions of Dalasis paid to certain individuals who had secured a ruling in their favour at the same ECOWAS Court against the APRC Government of Yaya Jammeh, which it refused to honour whilst in office.
For a country that is struggling to find resources to balance its budget, such huge payments can be burden on the tax payers, if the claimants continue to grow, as they surely will be. After all, the victims of the regime, who may have rightful claims to compensation, are in their hundreds, if not thousands. The Government must come out with a clear policy on how to address these claims, whilst respecting the court orders.
What is clear is that The Gambia cannot afford to continue paying out millions to individual claimants of compensation.
Bax,
I get mad and jittery when you talk about freedom/democracy during the PPP era. But it’s Bax’s opinion which I always highly respect.
Bax, I don’t know the definition you give to freedom/democracy. With rampant corruption, tribalism, nepotism, abject poverty there is NO freedom/democracy. Under the PPP we were subjected to all these abominable vices for 33 very bad years. I was there Bax, and felt these vices in blood, flesh and mind.
So please stop eulogizing the most corrupt and useless administration ever, the PPP administration. Under them, every sector of our life was corrupted and absolutely nobody had the guts to say a word. It was a silent state repressive machinery that showed it’s hypocritical image by summoning Gambians to 5-yearly elections tainted as free and fair. Elections in which our money, radio stations, public vehicles and everything public infrastructure belonged to them.
In 33 years what could we claim to be PPP achievement?
You see there was no development, thus no freedom no democracy. You cannot claim freedom and democracy with abject poverty, nepotism, corruption, tribalism and undercover repression.
Babu Soli, I don’t know which Bax you are responding to, because this one never eulogised the PPP, nor even talked about freedom and democracy under them, though I am not in any doubt that their’s was superior to the APRC’s, despite its many defects.
What I talked about, and which you have conveniently side-stepped, is the fact that Mr Yankuba Touray, a coupist in 1994 and member of the AFPRC, is accorded a far better treatment by this government than he and his council accorded the PPP Officials, who were arrested, dumped into open trucks, detained without even the basics, and tortured mercilessly before they were even asked a single question by a court of law or commission.
Can you please give us a break, if Yankuba Touray didn’t premeditated killing how can he ordered the relocation of his family to Edwards house. This is common sense
Pa Cham,
The Mandinkolu and my tribe, the Manswankolu say the Chams are NUMOLU, smiths, not silversmiths or goldsmiths, but blacksmiths. Being people of that caste class, our people normally avoid mix-marriages with them. They believe the NUMO blood is inferior, shameless and hypocritical.
I never took such social stratifications seriously.
However, your senseless, very stupid and ignorant reference of me without basis or justification is something that might convince me that you are a CHAM NUMO. No doubt about your uncouthed behaviour. That’s the only way you can behave.
If you never take such stratifications seriously, then why do you level them at someone who only directed the word “idiot” just at your person?
I think people still clenching such cultural/traditional belief in their hands in 2019 need psychiatric help.
Long live “Chams”! and long live all those smiths, cobblers, fishermen etc. The low castes in my opinion are uncreative pompous people who have seen glory in being able to disrespectful to groups or people because of the kind of jobs they do for a living. I may be dumb so to think I’m superior to other people if I lack an idea of the human digestion and metabolism systems. In the Gambia, the mystery surrounding our desolate poverty, that’s left our country so dusty and bumpy, with skinny popped up bellied kids and a literally impoverished population, lies within the terrible thinking capacities of a great deal of its citizenry. They would shout and scream insults at others parents and whole ethnicities. If you try listening to understand their states of minds, you would feel like you want to suffocate.
Hey, I read an article about young Gambians now all winning Pan African Robotics competitions … Congratulations! You are the hopes for a brighter Gambia. The trend of pompous, lazy, lying, mentally underdeveloped, greedy, opportunists, hypocrites, deceiving and fat bellied bourgeoisie across all sections of Gambian society, party politics and governance must be bucked before we’ll ever be seeing ourselves as people to be proud of there country. If Gambia were a very big country like Sudan or Algeria, we all would understand that, we really have a challenge but the fact that, it is as small as it is with one of the worst records of atrocities in west Africa brings nothing to mind but the question: are majority of Gambians savage … Or, does it have that much people with mental health issues as claimed in some findings?
In a footnote, Radiokankang is nothing bad except when the Kankango on it is not cleared like it is not on the Ebou millions in the first place. Wasn’t Koro murdered because he had wanted to dust of the Kankango off the millions of Dollars for every Gambians to see? I think Ebou should just shut of those skinned teeth and and wear a bit more of a serious face.
Jack,
No doubt, you can only react to Babu’s statements but never say a word to Pa Cham Numo’s STUPID insults. It shows your level of partially and your biasness between people who love and those you hate. I care LESS.
I’m happy about the way I defend myself and care less about people like you, Jack.
With Bax, Mwalimu, Dr I. Sarr, A.Pjalo, & Co, those conscientious Gambians who do not react to individual sayings but only to the truth, I’m happy to say views/opinions.
Where were you when the NUMO, Pa Cham unjustifiably insulted me? He gave no reason for it?
@Babu:
I would like to presume you have heard the testimonies of people from the journalistic fraternity of The Gambia. The number of journalists jailed, tortured, maimed, exiled and killed is just mind numbing, especially for a country that prides itself with community cohesion, empathy, sympathy and one state one family ideals, where everyone knows everybody else. Mind you, all these allegedly happened under the direct and indirect orders of Yaya.
Are you not finally convinced that your loyalty and trust have been betrayed and misused by a man who does not deserve your support, allegiance and reliability?
Don’t you think with all the mounting evidence and increasing number of witnesses, it’s time for you to show him your back? In the eyes of many people, that will be a brave and an honorable act.