Former Gambian Interior Minister Mai Ahmad Fatty is leading calls for the Government of President Adama Barrow to make public the findings of its investigations into last year’s shooting of protesters in Foni by officers of the Senegal led military intervention force in the Gambia.
Mr Fatty said it is not acceptable that an investigation relating to the use of live ammunition on civilians by security forces, which resulted in the death of one man and injury of several others has taken too long.
In June 2017, thousands of Foni residents gathered in former President Yahya Jammeh’s native village, Kanilai, some 119km from Banjul, and displayed banners calling for the immediate withdrawal of ECOMIG soldiers in the area.
They were however set upon by ECOMIG soldiers who barricaded the road and discharged a volley of live ammunition at them killing Haruna Jatta, 54, and wounding several others.
A medical report said Jatta was hit by two bullets on the abdomen causing serious internal bleeding. He later went into hypovolemic shock and took his last breath the following morning.
The Government of the Gambia refused to condemn Jatta’s killing and instead blamed him and fellow protesters of engaging in ‘provocative acts’ against members of the security forces.
Mai Ahmad Fatty who was minister of the Interior at the time, even when further without producing any evidence to accuse the protesters of carrying traditional weapons at the demonstration. He even suggested that some separatist rebels from Casamance had taken part in the protest.
Both the demonstrators and independent witnesses have denied the allegation, describing it as completely unfounded.
Reflecting on some of the things he said on national television a few hours after the incident, Mr Fatty said the things he said in his public statement contained information provided to him by security officers.
“When the incident happened I was in Liberia at the time but I had to cut short my trip to address the situation. When I arrived, I had briefings with my colleagues after that, I went straight to GRTS [Gambia Radio and Television Services] in order to present the government’s position. What I presented there was the intelligence I was provided with,” he told the independent Standard Newspaper.
“As a security minister, I act on intelligence… And what I said at the time was the intelligence made available to me by relevant agents of state. I had no reason at the time to doubt. Because I had no other information to contradict that, so I acted based on information I received,” he stated.
Mr Fatty who was sacked from his ministerial post last November, said following the incident, an investigation ECOMIG- the very security unit involved in the shooting- the Gambia Armed Forces, the Gambia Police Force and the State Intelligence Services.
He added that the matter was also discussed during a National Security Council meeting and recommendations were made.
Explaining things further, Mr Fatty said: “That report would not be necessarily presented to me as the minister to act upon because ECOMIG issue is not minister of the Interior issue. It was not directly under my jurisdiction.”
“First and famous I would want to make few important statements, I was never the minister of Defence. I got involved in the situation when the repercussion of what happened in Kanilai had a potential to threaten the security of this country and as a security minister, I had to do something to maintain stability.
“That was my area of jurisdiction. Haruna Jatta was not killed by forces under my command. It is purely an ECOMIG issue. An investigation was conducted and certainly a report was also prepared by the Gambia Police Force and SIS. And I can remember recommendations were made but that report would not be necessarily presented to me as the minister to act upon.”
Mai, again resorting to the same old opportunistic tendencies.
He may be thinking that he has now found a window for making hay amidst of all the hoopla surrounding the Faraba Banta incident.
I have said before, in reference to Mai Fatty, that a brush with misfortune shouldn’t necessarily be used by unscrupulous individuals to find cheap fame.
Looks to me that Mai is at it again!!
Too many of MAI’s ilk in The Gambia that will not wake up to the fact that that game plan is no longer a game changer!!
Mai certainly did better as Interior Minister than those who got appointed after he got sacked. Gambia needs an Interior minister like him. We want fairness to all citizenry.
I would lean towards that assertion.
However, Mai got himself tainted along the way!
And don’t ask me, in typical fashion, for evidence on that. Anyone that cares can look closely and they’ll find a smoking gun!
Whether you are for Mai or against him, he has a tremendous amount of potential to derail Barrow’s accomplishments.
Here is the likely scenario if Barrow does thread carefully:
1. Barrow and advisers (aka Jeng) especially those without any party basis, will become exhausted by Mai’s periodic statements and fire back in words and kind. In so doing, reaffirm Mai’s selling point of an underdog and award him huge platform as the opposition to barrow- from the ethnic-political segment that is still wary of open opposition to the gov’t.
2. Barrow’s actions and words in this fractious politico-ethnic structure, will inevitably enasble Mai to position himself as the defender of a segment that may feel wronged along the way.
3. And there is the probability that someone would advice the president to just forcibly shut out Mai once and for all. That may include arrest and incarceration. From there, the situation inevitably gets out of hand as was the case with Jammeh.
In nutshell, Mai is at the moment arguably the most difficult political element in gambias body politics.
Dirt is in politic, buddy buddy mmmm who will buddy buddy again if the politic goes wrong.
Mai Fatty has every right to ask questions. We, at APRC are not expecting anything from him. He was the Interior Minister when the innocent Haruna Jatta was deliberately and arrogantly gunned down in his village before his family, just because he claimed his rights.
I only hope the TRRC will call the BRUTAL Barrow administration to answer what Mai Fatty is asking. The law should take its rightful course. That’s the real democratic dispensation.
The truth, the facts will finally come to light. There is no way that Mai Fatty can live peacefully with clear conscience about the brutal gunning down of Haruna Jatta. He has more to ask and answer.
I once called for the results of the findings but many on-line anti-Jammeh elements simply perceived the Haruna Jatta case a drop of water in an ocean, NOT significant.
You may continue to vilify Mai, your usual “way” of antagonizing opposition to your ideas/thoughts!!!! One thing I know is that the Barrow INCOMPETENT administration supporters are disappointed with the behaviour of this group of SELFISH, TRIBALIST and CORRUPT administrators.
The events that unfolded from the Haruna Jatta shooting and the gunning down of the Kombo Faraba Banta youths clearly manifest the DICTATORIAL and SAVAGERY nature of this USELESS group of VERY BAD PEOPLE
Babu,we all know that justice delayed is justice denied and as the saying goes; that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander,yet in the case of Haruna Jatta Mai Fatty if not failed but came in too late to defend it`s cause. Mai had the real opportunity as Minister of The Interior to probe into the brutal murder of an innocent Gambian in the name of Haruna Jatta. Let me briefly tell you Babu Gambians are no fools anymore and no one can take them for a ride.This is why protests are everywhere all over The Gambia.Cheap political propaganda has no place any more all over Gambia. We all can remember Mai`s reactions and approach towards this gruesome incident therefore chameleon colors do not have any significance in this crime.The use of colloquial African political style to win the confidence of the electorates is no more,instead they the electorate get so sensitive to such political behaviors with strong doubt and revulsion.
Lest we forget the justice delayed/denied to the 52 West Africans massacred by thugs under the direct command of Yahya Jammeh. Lest we forget the justice delayed/denied to the 14 innocent school children butchered by thugs under the direct command of Yahya Jammeh. Lest we forget the justice delayed/denied to the families of Ebrima Korro Ceesay, Deyda Hydara, Ebou lowe, Masirey Jammeh and her brother, the two Gambian Americans, the death row prisoners illegally downed to death by thugs under the direct command of Yahya Jammeh. What about the tortured to death of Solo Sandeng? All human lives are previous and that included those before Haruna Jatta and those after him. Those who condemn Mai Fatty for his call to make the findings public probably have a short memory span for such noble calls are not the norm in the Gambian political dispensation. Yahya Jammeh wouldn’t constitute any forms of investigation after the brutal killings of those i mentioned above. I wonder where the sensitivity and revulsion of the electorate towards all incidents of innocence being killed? It can’t be further from the truth to call Barrow’s administration dictatorial while praising daily a dictator that caused our people too much harm and suffering.
Omar Baldeh,
Your words remind me of the Fatu Video report on the Kombo Faraba Banta brutal police gunning down incidence of innocent civilian youths. One of the women interviewed is among The Gambia’s most brilliant citizens on political analysis. I was dumb-founded at listening to that brilliant lady. And I’m sure she had never sat in the four corners of a classroom. It reflects the level of our politico-civic rights awareness.
Our leaders today and those to come tomorrow have to understand that the population can no longer be musled for their selfish gains. Those days of DINKENDO, BAFUTU DINGO FOR A FEW are over!
WE ARE ALL DINKENDOLU, WE ARE ALL BAFUTU DINGOLU!!!
Correction:
I mean Kerr Fatou video report on the Faraba Banta incidence
You said it all Babu Soli,and let make clear that I my made comments based on the new Gambia that all opposition parties fought for and this paramount achievement cannot be mortgaged by a single party or myopic minded party supporters.
You said it all Babu Soli,and let me make it clear that I made my comments based on the new Gambia that all opposition parties fought for and this paramount achievement cannot be mortgaged by a single party or myopic minded party supporters.
Those who blindly defend this INCOMPETENT, CORRUPT administration are shamed, disappointed and out of words. They thought a SAVIOUR administration would take over.
The worst thing in human life is to TELL LIES. They lied to the Gambian people, promised from fantasies and deeply failed to accomplish. Here is the WORST administration ever. A combination of 8 bitty and USELESS NOUGHTS that took over on all forms of promises only to illicitly quickly fill their pockets with the poor people’s money, deny them all rights to assemble, threaten them, menace and coerce them and finally arrest, remand them without charges and shoot them in cold blood. How better are they than President Jammeh?
Is that what they promised? Is that what our people expected from them?
Babu, calm down!
Nobody expected miracle. We expected that it will be a bumpy road. But the alternative was not tenable. Barrow is in office because of popular vote. Jammeh came in with a barrel of gun. Making him unaccountable to the people.
Barrow on the otherhand, is in office at the will of the people. He must implement his mandate or face the consequences of incapability. These are 2 very different starting points.