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| Momodou |
Posted - 13 Apr 2016 : 11:41:29
DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL, DISAPPEARANCE WITHOUT TRACE STILL PREVAIL IN GAMBIA
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: April 11, 2016
 The unlawful incommunicado detention without trial and disappearance without trace still continue unabated in The Gambia as D . W . Tmany are held without access or charge and others are also still missing after their abduction.
Such impunity prevails in gross violation of human rights as Gambians and non Gambians from all walks of life have spent several days, months or years in detention incommunicado without trial at different locations such as the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mile Two Prison and the Janjangbureh Prison in the Central River Region (CRR).
This goes on in contravention of section 19 of the 1997 Constitution of the Second Republic which states that “Any person who is arrested or detained… who is not released, shall be brought without undue delay before a court of law and, in any event, within 72 hours.’’
The persons listed below have either been arrested or disappeared and there is still no report that the state has charged them to a court. Furthermore, on 21 March the high court ordered the release of Imam Ousman Sawaneh, who was detained beyond 72 hours without being taken before a court of law; but he is yet to be released 21 days after the order was made.
This column features persons who have been unlawfully detained or disappeared every quarter when the list (which is by no means exhaustive) is updated.
From the remarks of the families of the detainees it is apparent that the absence of their are husbands, fathers, mothers, uncles, sons and so on has really caused untold psychological, physical and economic suffering to those they left behind. Family members often say that the arrestors and abductors are men in plain clothes, including members of the NIA and other sister security outfits across the country.
IN DETENTION FOR 176 DAYS: The Imam of Kanifing South, ALHAGI OUSMAN SAWANEH, who is yet to be released in spite of a court order is held incommunicado for 176 days at the remote Janjangbureh Prison in the Central River Region (CRR) without any access to his family members, a family source said.
According to family members, he was picked up by unidentified men in civilian clothes around 10 am on Sunday, 18 October, 2015, while leading a team of volunteers to clear the grass in the Kanifing South Cemetery. His whereabouts were not initially known to the family but he was later traced to the NIA headquarters in Banjul. He was later transferred from the NIA to CRR Prison on the 27th October, 2015.
According to family sources Imam Sawaneh has still not returned home contrary to their hope that he would be released when the court ordered the state to do so. Upon the filing of a writ of habeas corpus by the Imam’s family, the high court at Banjul, Justice Basiru Mahoney presiding, ordered for the Imam’s release on Monday, 21 March, 2016, either conditionally or unconditionally. Family members say they do not know why he is still held in spite of the court order for his release. They have expressed their concerns over the detention of their loved one and are urging the authorities to release him.
IN DETENTION FOR 179 DAYS: OUSMAN JAMMEH, a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, who was removed from his post on Thursday evening, 15 October, 2015, was also arrested on the same day and held at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul, where he had been held incommunicado for 91 days before being transferred to Mile Two Prison. He is still held incommunicado at Mile II prison and his detention now spans 179 days without access to his entire family or being taken to a court of law.
According to a source, Mr Jammeh had left his home on Thursday 15 October, to go and attend a World Food Day Celebration in Basse. The source added that while on his way he received a phone call from unidentified men who asked him to cancel his trip and return. While returning Mr Jammeh was immediately picked up by men in plain clothes.
Family members say when they were informed about the arrest of their loved one they began to search for him and traced him to the NIA office in Banjul. They added that when they visited the NIA on Saturday 17 October 2015 with a bowl of food, clothes and other needs, they were told by agents they met at the gate that food and other items would not be allowed in and they were also not allowed access to him.
Expressing their concern over the denial of access to him and the refusal to even receive his clothes, a distraught family member said, “We do not know what our loved one has done to warrant his detention and denial of access. His children keep asking for him and we cannot tell them that their dad is arrested. We told them that he has travelled and is yet to come.”
IN DETENTION FOR 179 DAYS: The Imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, SHEIKH OMAR COLLEY, has been held incommunicado for 179 days without access to his family members. He was reported missing for 145 days but family members say that they have finally traced their loved one to the Janjangbureh Prison in the Central River Region (CRR).
The family of Imam Colley say upon his arrest he was detained incommunicado at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul for 48 days and that while they were making efforts to access him they received information that the Imam had been transferred from the NIA to Janjangbureh Prison in the Central River Region (CRR). ‘‘We’re still searching for our brother because we are worried and concerned about his sudden disappearance. We went to the NIA and we were told that he is not in their custody anymore; then we later got information that he had been moved to CRR prison but they also told us he was not in their custody,’’ family source said.
Family members are still pleading with the authorities to come to their aid and help them find their loved. ‘‘Our brother’s present situation is a real cause for concern as we do not know where and how he is being held. His two wives and numerous children are seriously worried about his present condition and state of health,” the source lamented.
Earlier reports indicate that Imam Colley was transferred from Yundum Police Station to the National NIA headquarters in Banjul less than a day after he presented himself there following instructions from a distant caller in Bansang.
The brothers of the detainee explained that on Thursday 15 October, 2015, while Imam Colley was at home he received a telephone call from someone, who claimed to be calling from Bansang Police Station and asked him to report to Old Yundum police station. He said this unknown caller told Imam Colley to call him with his mobile phone when he reaches the station so that he (the caller) could talk to the station officer (SO). He said this was around the time when his brother was about to go to the mosque to perform his ‘Maghrib’ (twilight) prayers.
The source further explained that they accompanied Mr. Colley to the station and while they were there, their brother called the said caller from Bansang to talk to the police they met there and who later asked him to hand over all his personal belongings e.g. mobile phone, wrist watch, rosary beads, etc., and enter the cell. He said the brother then complied with this police order.
A close family source said when they returned to the station around 7am the next day on Friday, they were told by the police officers they met there that their brother was no longer in their custody. He said the brother was later traced at the NIA headquarters in Banjul but they were denied access to him while he was held at the NIA before his current detention at CRR prison.
IN DETENTION FOR 161 DAYS: IMAM CHERNO GASSAMA of Dasilami in Lower Fulladou West District, Central River Region (CRR) is also held incommunicado at the Janjanbureh prison in CRR without release or charge.
According to reports Imam Gassama was arrested on Monday, 2 November 2015, at his residence by an operative of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) who was accompanied by a police officer in uniform from Brikamaba police station.
An eye witness disclosed that, when the Imam arrived at the police station, he was detained briefly before being finally taken to Janjanbureh Prison on the same day. “We are not told about the reason for his arrest and long detention without charge or court appearance,” added the source.
A member of his mosque congregation said they are appealing to the authorities to release the Imam so as to enable him to lead prayers in the current reconstruction works of their mosque.
The Imam’s family also joined in the appeal for the release of their loved one so that he could reunite with his family after this long period of detention.
IN DETENTION FOR 586 DAYS: A former Human Resource Director of the state telecommunication company, Gamtel/Gamcel, MR. SEEDY JAITEH, has also been held incommunicado at the maximum security Wing in Mile Two Prison for 586 days without access to his family or trial, a family source disclosed.
The family source said that in March 2016 they visited the said prison to get the authorities to allow them access to their loved one but the authorities turned down their request, which has led them to have sleepless nights and worries over his continued detention.
However, the family are making efforts to secure his release and are calling on the government to free their loved one.
‘‘Since he was transferred to Mile Two Prison on 3 September 2014, we were denied access to our loved one and we are not aware of any charge preferred against him,’’ a family source lamented.
The source added that on several occasions attempts have been made to have access to him at the prison but without success. The family was even expecting his release when the president’s grant of amnesty was announced leading to the release of some detainees and convicted prisoners but to their disappointment he was not released.
Mr. Jaiteh, according to reports, was picked up at his home in Manjai Kunda, by men in plain clothes on 27 August 2014 and then whisked away in a numberless vehicle with tinted glasses. His family went searching for him at different detention centres such as the NIA, Police Headquarters, NDEA Holgam centre at Kanifing South and other nearby police stations but in vain. He was finally traced at the NIA in Banjul where the family members were initially allowed to be taking food to him but this lasted for only few days.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW: LIEUTENANT EBOU LOWE, a former Military personnel of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), has gone missing from the public view and he had never been seen or heard from since 2006, a close relative revealed.
According to family sources of the ex-military officer, they are still searching for their beloved brother and would like the authorities to do a proper investigation into his whereabouts. He added that they have been visiting the prison and following the pronouncement of a grant of amnesty by the president, which led to the release of some convicted prisoners and detainees, they went to Mile Two prison on the 24 July 2015, in anticipation that he would be among them but were disappointed not to see his him.
Reports indicated that Lt. Lowe was among the military officers who were arrested in the wake of the 21 March 2006 attempted coup. It was later announced by the state media on 4th April 2006 that Bai Lowe had escaped with four other security officers while being transferred to Janjangbureh prison in the hinterland but up to date no one has seen or heard of him.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW: Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Former State House Senior Reporter and Crime Watch Columnist of the Daily Observer Newspaper, was also arrested by security agents at his workplace in Bakau on 7 July 2006. Reports indicated that after his abduction, he was taken to different detention centres in country. His final disappearance occurred immediately after the African Union (AU) Summit hosted by The Gambia in 2006.
The father of Chief Manneh, who cries while explaining the situation of his son, said that he would not rest searching or requesting from the government about his missing son until he sees him. He added that he will try all best to mobilise religious leaders to go with him to President Jammeh at his residence in Kanilai to enquire from him about his son, Chief Manneh.
Chief Manneh’s aging father has been making frantic efforts in search of his son since inception. He said he first visited all the known security detention centres around the country without any trace of his son and had also approached personalities such as the then NIA Director General, Mr Harry Sambou; the then IGP, Mr. Ousman Sonko; the then State House Imam, Fatty and the Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy to help in the efforts to trace Chief Manneh, but to no avail. The family is calling on the state to mount an investigation into the disappearance of their loved one, because they were very much traumatised about the disappearance.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) based in Accra, Ghana, filed a suit against the Gambia government at the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, Nigeria on 19 June 2007. The court held several proceedings but since the commencement of proceedings on 16 July 2016, the Government of The Gambia repeatedly failed to appear before the ECOWAS Court after being served with several summons. While the plaintiffs presented two witnesses from the Gambia who testified, the state failed to secure the appearance of senior Police and Military officers who were subpoenaed to testify.
On 5 June 2008, the ECOWAS Court entered judgment in favour of the missing journalist and ordered the Gambian government to release and compensate him an amount of US 100,000 Dollars but still now nothing has been done.
The position of the Gambia Government has been conflicting. The Gambia government never made any public comment about the missing Journalist until February 2009 when the matter of Chief Manneh was raised in Parliament by the then Minority leader Momodou Sanneh. The then Justice Minister Mrs. Marie Saine Firdaus stated that Chief Manneh has never been in state custody and described MFWA’s move as premature without exhausting the local Gambian courts before going to the ECOWAS level.
However, her successor Mr. Edward Gomez, told Daily News, that Chief Manneh was still alive but failed to give any supportive evidence about his claims. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Yankuba Sonko at the time also told a local newspapers that the missing journalist is residing in the United States of America, but he also failed to give provide any evidence.
The Solicitor General, in 2008 told Amnesty International Researchers that the government believed Chief Manneh was abducted as it has been claimed, though nobody from the government had been involved.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 2 YEARS NOW: Two Gambian–US citizens, ALHAGIE MAMUT CEESAY and EBOU JOBE, went missing on Saturday, 22 June 2013 in Brusubi while on holiday in The Gambia. The disturbed family members of the two US citizens are dissatisfied with the lack of progress as they both locally and Internationally they are yet to trace their whereabouts or to secure their release.
The two were abducted from the same apartment at Brusubi on the same day. Family sources noted that the duo came to The Gambia with the intention of investing in a cashew exporting business.
According to the release issued by the Ceesay family, Alhagie and Ebou went to the Gambia to invest and contribute to The Gambian economy. The two had a lease agreement for the office space they rented while in The Gambia.
Mr. Ceesay is said to have completed his bachelor’s degree at University of Washington (Seattle) and later worked for Chevron Texaco for 11 years as an Infrastructure systems analyst. He recently obtained his MBA in 2013. He is married and has two children.
As for Mr. Jobe, he is said to have graduated from the University of Washington and worked at Wal-Mart as an Operations Manager. He is also married and has three children.
A family source has indicated that the police have been informed and are fully aware of the disappearance of the duo but are yet to come up with any findings regarding their whereabouts.
The US government has been pursuing the matter with the Gambia Government and did raise the matter at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
A former US Charge d’Affaire said at a press conference in 2014 that, “As far as I know, they were picked up and disappeared and we have asked the Gambia Government to investigate.”
He disclosed that they have even offered the services of the FBI to help in locating these two US citizens and added that they will leave no stone unturned in searching for their nationals.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW: A native of Jarra who was residing in Bonto village in Kombo East of the West Coast Region (WCR) and a former employee of the Christian Children Fund, (now Child Fund The Gambia), MR. LAMIN KANYI (ALIAS KANYIBA KANYI), was abducted in the Gambia on 18th September 2006 by men in plain clothes believed to be security agents, including a police officer in uniform in the presence of his family. Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown to his family.
According to witnesses, Kanyiba was abducted around 9:00pm by three men who demanded to see him in camera; that Kanyiba then asked them to identify themselves and their mission which they refused to disclose. “The said men in plain clothes then called a taxi driver who was some metres away from the scene. Within a twinkle of an eye, the taxi driver arrived, Kanyiba was forcefully pushed into the taxi and then whisked away in full view of his family, leaving the wife and family in tears,” said a family member.
According to a source shortly after Kanyiba was whisked away, his younger brother was also arrested and detained overnight at the Serious Crime Unit (SCU) at the Police headquarters in Banjul but was later released. The family say that they have been traumatized and are seriously affected by the abduction and disappearance of their loved one since 2006.
It was also revealed that at the time of Kanyiba’s forced disappearance, his wife was pregnant and later delivered a baby girl who is now 10 years old and attending school.
Family members in their efforts are still calling on the government to aid them in locating and securing the release of their loved one.
It was further disclosed that Kanyiba Kanyi’s father died shortly after a visit to Kanilai to request for an audience with President Jammeh, audience he was unable to obtain.
His family members also filed a writ of “Habeas Corpus’ at the high court but he was not produced before the court neither was he released contrary to the court order.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW – Mr. Lamin Tunkara, a native of Kinteh-Kunda Marong Kunda in the Central Baddibu District of the North Bank Region (NBR), was arrested on 21st July, 2005, by a combined team, comprising the CID (police), NIA agents and plain clothes officers, behind Albert Market in Banjul. He is still missing since his arrest in 2005.
The family said his house in Tallinding was ransacked by the said security agents who confiscated foreign denominations – CFA, US Dollars and Euros – and Dalasi as well.
The family also said Mr. Tunkara was detained at the Police headquarters in Banjul for few days and later at the Kairaba Police Station. His family said while in detention, he was accused of being an agent facilitating the journey of nationals through the “back way” to Spain. He was last seen at Kairaba Police Station and up till now family members have no clue of his whereabouts.
DISAPPEARED FOR 10 YEARS: Three good close friends, ALHAGIE MOMODOU LAMIN NYASSI, ex-Chief of Foni Kansala District, NDONGO MBOOB and ALHAGIE BUBA SANYANG, all natives of Bwiam in the West Coast Region, have gone missing and never returned home since their arrest by men in plain clothes in 2006.
A family source says that to their surprise when amnesty was granted and a lot of prisoners were released their loved one was not among those released; they still have no information about him, they do not know whether he is still alive or not, or if he is arrested.
According to sources, the former Chief of Foni Kansala was arrested by plain clothes agents on Tuesday evening, 4 April, 2006, whilst conveying his friend, Ndongo Mboob, who visited his house.
They also explained that they have visited all security detention centres in The Gambia, including Mile II Central Prisons, Janjangbureh Prison, NIA detention centre in Banjul and the Police headquarters, but that all these efforts proved to be in vain.
The relatives of the disappeared persons told this reporter that they are traumatized and desperate to see their loved ones.
Alhagie Buba Sanyang (alias Bubai), was also picked up from his house on the same day by three NIA operatives who informed him that he was wanted by someone in higher authority. The family said Bubai had just finished performing the ‘Maghrib’ prayer when the men came for him. They said Bubai at that juncture handed over his mobile phones to his wife, and then the men whisked him away. The family added that up to date they have not seen or heard from him.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW: JASARJA KUJABI, a native of Dobong village, in the Foni Kansala District, went missing since Wednesday, 27 July, 2005, after his house was ransacked by men claiming to be NIA agents who came in a numberless Nissan jeep with tinted glasses.
Family sources told Foroyaa that they have not seen or heard from him since his disappearance in 2005 and that they are still wondering if their loved one is alive. ‘‘Since he was arrested by the agents, his absence is really disturbing us a lot because we’re facing a serious financial crisis and he was the only financial support of his young family,’’ a family source added.
According to the family, Mr Kujabi was picked up from his farm and then taken to his house for him to change his clothes. The source said he told his family that he was going to answer but that they should not be bothered and that he was soon whisked away. His situation still remains unknown to his entire family.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW – HARUNA JAMMEH, a native of Kanilai, also went missing in the same evening, as he boarded the same vehicle that came for the arrest of Jisarja. Since then these two are nowhere to be seen or heard of up to date.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 11 YEARS NOW: MRS MASIREH JAMMEH, a former employee at the State House in Banjul and also a native of Kanilai, has been missing since July 15 2005. The family said since then they have not seen or heard from her and do not also know where she is being held.
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Momodou |
Posted - 13 Jan 2017 : 15:34:40
DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL
Foroyaa Editorial: January 11, 2017
REVIEW OF 2016
DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL
We continue with highlighting stories that were published by Foroyaa in 2016 which marked important events and development. We started with detention without trial and disappearance without trace which continued unabated till the end of the year. We continue with this issue in this edition but this time we will focus on those who were released in the course of the year.
RELEASED AFTER 28 DAYS IN DETENTION:
 Two members of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), namely SSgt. Samba Jawo and SSgt. Draman Jahateh, who were reported being detained by Military Police (MP) at the Yundum Barracks for 28 days, were finally released on 26 December, 2016 around 7pm.
Asked if there were any charges preferred against them or whether they have been asked to be reporting on bail at the Barracks, the source responded that they were both released unconditionally.
They were arrested on 30 November 2016, said the sister who had said at the time of detention that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) had always said that they do not know anything about the two soldiers.
SSgt. Jawo and SSgt. Jahateh were held incommunicado at the NIA for 16 days before being handed over to the MP at the Yundum Barracks on Thursday, 15 December, around 4pm.
RELEASED AFTER 9 DAYS IN DETENTION:
 Kebba Sanneh, a resident of Bakau, was finally released on Sunday, 1 January, 2017 around 1pm, after 9 days incommunicado in the custody of Military Police (MP) at Bakau Barracks.
Fatou Janneh said her son who fell ill while in detention, was released and brought home by one Njundu Drammeh, the National Coordinator of Child Protection Alliance (CPA), and a senior military in mufti.
Kebba’s mother says that son was picked up on while attending a musical performance at the Independence Stadium in Bakau. She explained that she was told that her son had an altercation with someone who was purported to be a senior military officer in mufti and was eventually arrested by the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) and handed over to the Military Police at the Barracks.
She also told Foroyaa that they were not allowed access to see his son while in detention despite several attempts.
RELEASED AFTER 4 FOUR DAYS IN DETENTION:  Alpha Sey, a resident of Koto Quarry, who was abducted on the 31 December, 2016 while wearing #GambiaHasDecided T-shirt by unidentified personnel in a pickup vehicle near the traffic lights at Kairaba Avenue, was released together with Wandifa and 2 others on 3 January.
Sey, according to eyewitnesses, was forced into a pickup vehicle around 11pm near the traffic lights at Kairaba Avenue on Saturday, 31 December and taken to the NIA headquarters in Banjul where he was held for more than 72 hours before he was released on bail and asked to report on Thursday, 5 January.
RELEASED AFTER 6 DAYS IN DETENTION: Lamin Cham, alias ‘Lang Boy Cham’, a taxi driver and ‘Traffic Show’ presenter at West Coast radio, has been released on bail from the Brusubi police station, on 23 November, 2016, after 6 days in detention without court trial.
Shortly after his release, he told Foroyaa that he was freed on bail at 2pm and that on 23 November at around 10am, he will start reporting on bail at the said station.
He was arrested and detained at the station since on Friday, 18 November. A family source said while they were at home, Lang Boy received a phone call from an unknown caller. “He answered to the call but we did not know what he was discussing with the caller. When we asked him who that caller was, he told us that he will be back soon but he never returned,” she stated.
RELEASED AFTER 71 DAYS INCOMMUNICADO: an apprentice, Lamin Sarjo, who was arrested alongside UDP sympathizers has been released after 71 days incommunicado detention without charge.
The 18-year old apprentice-Lamin Sarjo, was amongst 36 supporters who were arrested by the PIU around Kanifing on 9 May while en route to the Kombos from Banjul, after attending a court trial of the UDP leader and 19 other members.
He was said to be a nephew and apprentice of Malang Sarjo, a commercial ‘gele gele’ driver, who was part of those UDP supporters who were released on bail on 30 June at the police headquarters in Banjul.
RELEASED AFTER 319 DAYS INCOMMUNICADO: An ex-agent of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Madikeh Faal, was released on 20 December, 2016, around 4pm, after being unlawfully held incommunicado for 319 days at the maximum security wing in Mile Two prison.
His wife, Mrs. Fatou Mboob-Faal said that some agents went to the prison and picked him up and took him to the NIA headquarters where he was freed.
Mr. Faal, a resident of Sinchu-Alagie, was arrested and detained since Wednesday, 17 February, 2016.
While in detention, his wife, Mrs. Mboob-Faal had made several attempts to have access to him at the prison but they were all along denied access. She explained that when they visited the prison, they were told by the prison wardens that “they wouldn’t allow any family member to visit him there, until they get order from the top to do so.”
Furthermore, she said that Mr. Faal’s arrest started on 15 February when he received a phone call from the NIA director asking him to go to their headquarters in Banjul to submit some court documents. She said her husband then complied and that after submitting the documents he returned home on that same day.
She added two days later, her husband was invited again around mid-day by the previous caller to the NIA.
Before joining the NIA in 2006, Mr. Faal had served in the Gambia Armed Forces for twelve (12) years. He then served the NIA for eight (8) years. He later bought a vehicle and started working as a taxi driver to earn income to support his entire family.
 RELEASED AFTER 9 MONTHS INCOMMUNICADO: Abdou Jammeh, commonly known as Anabi, a prison officer and a native of Kanilai, has been finally released after detention at Mile 2 Central Prisons for 9 months.
The Wife of Abdou Jammeh, Serreh Jarjue, told this reporter that, her Husband Abdou Jammeh was released on Monday night 3 October 2016.
Serreh Jarjue, the wife of Mr. Jammeh and the mother of their three children, told Foroyaa that her husband left home on a Tuesday, in January, this year, to go to work at Mile Two Prisons on an afternoon shift but never returned home.
“I made several attempts to meet my husband since his detention but it never materialised,” said Madame Jarjue.
By extension, she said she even made attempts to meet the Director General of Prisons on the issue of her husband but without success.
She further stated that during the course of the detention of her husband, she and her children went through a lot of difficulties.
“I am not working, my kids and I depend wholly and solely on my husband. We only have food if our neighbours spare us with some,” she lamented.
She said life became so hard for her and the children until two of them who were going to school had to stop their schooling, because they were attending private schools which she cannot afford to pay.
She said, she is feeling so sad because the current health condition of her husband has been very bad since he was released.
“It’s painful because my husband was healthy and now he is sick since his release,” she lamented.
She said her husband is experiencing pain on his ribs and legs.
Abdou (Anabi) Jammeh
TO BE CONTINUED |
| Momodou |
Posted - 06 Jan 2017 : 19:40:59
DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL, DISAPPEARANCE WITHOUT TRACE IN 2016
Foroyaa: January 6, 2017
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13719http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13719
The year 2016 is no more, but it has been a memorable year, a year that many Gambians are proud of, a year when the unthinkable had happened. This is the year when, contrary to the expectations of many, the opposition formed a united front against the ruling APRC to contest the December 1 presidential election. It is the year that sceptics witnessed the defeat of the incumbent, President Jammeh, at the polls. To crown it all, it is the year that the incumbent conceded defeat at the polls. Needless to say, the political movement of 2016 has ushered in 2017 and we should expect more surprises, may be more dramatic and meaningful surprises.
In the series under this caption, Foroyaa will sum up the stories it published relating to important events and developments in 2016.
We start with Detention without Trial and Disappearance without Trace. In this edition we will deal with those who are still under detention or have disappeared and are yet to be traced.
DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL, DISAPPEARANCE WITHOUT TRACE IN 2016
By Mustapha Jallow
The arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention without court trials and disappearance without trace of Gambians, such as journalists, religious leaders, political dissidents, ruling party stalwarts, public servants, cabinet ministers, youths and members of the security forces is becoming nightmarish. The trauma and agony of these victims or survivors of human rights violations and impunity are of great concern to their families and loved ones.
These desperate family members have given fresh accounts of how their fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and other close relatives have been snatched away by agents of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), men in plain clothes (including the dreadful Black suits) and Police (CID) officers who would come to their homes at some ungodly hour, pick them up and whisk them away in tinted glass vehicles often to an unknown destination.
Such arrest and detention incommunicado contravenes section 19 which stipulates that a detainee should be informed of the reason(s) of his/her and access a lawyer within three hours; and if such detainee is not released within 72 hours he/she should be brought before a court of law. But the testimonies in this article show that detainees have spent days, months or years in detention while others have disappeared for more than a decade now without trace by their families.
Their whereabouts has become a mystery to affected family members, who keep wondering and asking if their loved ones are alive or dead. They also describe the economic hardship that they have been going through, especially their young children, who are also suffering hardship due to the absence of their main or sole breadwinner.
While family members have made several calls on the outgoing regime of President Yaya Jammeh to send a team to investigate the whereabouts of their loved ones who went missing, all their frantic efforts and hopes were futile. One thing the president can do in commemoration of the New Year is to release all detainees who are unlawfully held, allow access to family members and lawyers and set up a team to investigate the long list of disappearances. This will win him honour and glory.
The list below, by no means exhaustive, gives names and dates of arrestees and describes how their arrest or abduction was effected.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 56 DAYS:
 MR BAKARY FATTY, an agriculture reporter at the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), has been in detention at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul without charge since on Tuesday, 8 November 2016.
Aji Mama Sonko, one of Mr Fatty’s wives walked into Foroyaa office and asked Foroyaa to do an update again about her detained husband. She said: “We as wives and mothers, want our husband back home immediately. It really pains us a lot when our children and his old mother ask about their father or son. Do the authorities want us to continue lying to our children every time, telling them that their father travelled and will be back soon? She asked. It would be shameful if your children later realise that you were hiding something from them,” she added.
Recently, Madam Sonko told this reporter that though they were allowed to visit their husband at NIA, she and other family members do not why he is put behind bars. She also described her husband as the head of their family and is concerned about his state of well-being. “The absence of our responsible husband has become nightmarish, causing us economic hardship at home,” she complained.
Bakary’s arrest came in the wake of his return from Kanilai on Monday, 7 November at a time when he started complaining that his asthma had attacked him again. She said on Tuesday morning, while he was under treatment, he received a phone call from an unknown caller who told him that he is wanted at GRTS and Fatty replied to the said caller that he is ill and cannot go to the office.
“Few minutes later, Mr Fatty kept receiving calls upon calls but his response to them was that he is ill and cannot go to the office,” the relative disclosed.
Around 12 noon, Mr Fatty, the bread winner of the family, received yet another call and this time the caller told him that his boss wanted him immediately at GRTS. The source further noted that Fatty had no option but to go and answer at the office.
“While he was with one of the wives in his vehicle, the phone rang again and the caller asked for his location; but he told him that he was on his way to the office. He later dropped his wife at Farato as she was going to the clinic and he then proceeded,” the relative explained.
The relative revealed that the wife later received a phone call from her husband telling her that his office was filled with NIA agents who were taking him to their office in Banjul.
“The wife overheard them telling him that he should switch off his phone and his final words to me was ‘just pray for me’ then hereafter their communication was cut-off. His entire family became worried and some of them including me visited the NIA headquarters but the agents there told us that they do not know Bakary Fatty,” she said.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 2 YEARS 129 DAYS:
 Ex-Human Resource Director at Gamcel, MR. SEEDY JAITEH, has spent two years 129 days incommunicado at the maximum security wing in Mile Two prison without access to his family members.
Mr. Jaiteh, after his release in February 2014, was rearrested by the state agents at his residence in Manjai Kunda in the late hours of the morning on 27 August 2014 and then taken to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul, where he was held until 3 September, before being sent to Mile Two where he is currently held for years now without charge.
According to family sources they have been visiting the prison on several occasions but prison officers never allow them access to see their loved one. The source added they tried all means in order to talk to their detained relative but officers at the prison told them that they do not have any authority to allow that.
A source in tears while speaking to this reporter through phone, concluded by calling on the authorities to release Mr Jaiteh, who they describe as husband of two wives and father of a child.
IN DETENTION FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR:
 IMAM SHEIKH OMAR COLLEY, an imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, is still being unlawfully held incommunicado at Janjangbureh Prison in the Central River Region (CRR) for more a year now without access to his brothers.
“We stopped visiting the said prison as anytime time we made any attempt, the prison wardens would deny us access to our brother. So we have no other option till we started approaching some officials to talk to the outgoing President Jammeh about our brother’s detention,” one of the brothers said.
Imam Colley, who they described as main breadwinner of his two wives and little children is under state custody without any charge preferred against him.
According to the brother they are repeating the same thing by calling on the authorities to secure the release of Imam Colley as his family home are experiencing severe economic hardship.
It was reported that while Imam Colley was at home on that fateful day when he received a telephone call from someone who claimed to be calling from Bansang Police Station and asking him to report to Old Yundum police station. It was said that the unknown caller told the imam to call him with his mobile phone when he reached the station so that he (the caller) could talk to the station officer (SO). This was said to be around the time when the imam was about to go to the mosque to perform his ‘Maghreb’ (twilight) prayers.
A family source explained that they accompanied Mr. Colley to the station and while they were there, their brother called the said caller from Bansang to talk to the police officer they met there. This police officer, he said, later asked him to hand over his personal belongings e.g. mobile phone, wrist watch, rosary beads, etc., and enter into the cell. He said the Imam then complied with this police order.
He said when they returned to the station around 7am the next day on Friday, they were told by the police officers they met there that their brother was no longer in their custody. He said the brother was later traced to the NIA, but they were denied access to him while he was held there before his current detention at Janjangbureh Prison.
‘‘He was detained at the NIA headquarters in Banjul for 48 days and that while we were making efforts to access him, we later got information that our brother has being moved from the NIA to Janjangbureh Prison in the CRR,’’ the brother said.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR:
 ALHAGI OUSMAN SAWANEH, the imam of Kanifing South, who was picked up by state agents around 10am on Sunday, 18 October, 2015, while leading a team of volunteers to clear the grass in the Kanifing South Cemetery, is still held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR) without any access to family members.
According to family sources it is one year and 2 months now their imam had spent in detention without trial at the prison. Following the freedom of political prisoners and other government officials who were recently granted, sources though that their loved one would be also released as soon as possible since after court ordered the state to free him but their hopes were disappointed.
‘‘We cannot access him since he was taken away, we have done many efforts or solutions so that he can be a free man but all went in vain. It’s not easy at all for a family man to be kept in one place like that without any reason being advanced to his entire family members,’’ source lamented.
His wives and young family are victims of long detention as an impunity are suffering and being traumatized by the lack of access to their loved one, this was disclosed after several visits to respectively home of the imam.
It was earlier reported that imam’s whereabouts were not initially made known to the family but he was later traced to the NIA headquarters in Banjul. He was later moved from the NIA to Janjanbureh Prison on the 27 October.
Source explained before their loved one was taken away there were 2 unidentified men in civilian clothes, who came to their home and asked for him and were told them that Imam Sawaneh have gone to the Cemetery and that the unknown visitors then requested for his phone number which was given to them.
“After giving them the number, they left and did not disclose to us what their mission was but an eyewitness who was with the imam at the cemetery came and told us that he saw him being approached by two men who asked to see him in private and later went with him. We then started calling his cell phone but all of a sudden it was switched off as at that moment we began searching for him until he was finally traced to the NIA,’’ disclosed the family source.
With the filing of a writ of habeas corpus by the Imam’s family, the high court in Banjul ordered for the Imam’s release on Monday, 21 March, 2016, either conditionally or unconditionally but up to date he still held at remote prison camp in Janjanbureh in the hinterland.
‘‘We do not know why he held in spite of the high court order for his release. We have been expressing our concerns over his well-being and urged the outgoing government facility for him to be freed and reunite with his family members,’’ she said.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR:
https://www.foroyaa.gm/foroyaa-wp-upl/uploads/2015/10/Ousman-Jammeh-.jpgMR. OUSMAN JAMMEH, before his dismissal, arrest and held incommunicado, served under the outgoing regime of President of Yahya Jammeh as a Deputy Minister of Agriculture President.
According to a close family source ex- deputy minister has now been detained for a year and 2 months at the maximum security wing in Mile Two prison without access or taken to a court of law, adding that they have approached several government officials to assist them to secure the release of their son but none of them have accepted their invitation. ‘‘We even went to a local newspaper in Kanifing which is said to be owned by the state and reported the matter to them but we were told that such are not allowed to be published on their paper,” source said.
However, asked if any reason is advanced to them regarding Mr. Jammeh being held behind bars for such a long period, the source said since then no reason has been advanced to them and are hereby calling on the outgoing government to release their loved one.
On Thursday 15 October, 2015 upon his removal from office, he was held at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul, where he spent 91 days incommunicado before being sent to the prison.
Sources indicate that he had left his home on Thursday 15 October, to attend and officiate the commemoration of World Food Day in Basse, Upper River Region (URR), but that while on his way he received a phone call from unidentified men who asked him to cancel his trip and return to attend an urgent meeting in state house. While returning he was picked up by men in plain clothes and taken away with his official vehicle to the NIA.
A source disclosed that two of his orderlies were escorted by the agents to his residence in Kanifing South where they informed family members that their loved one was under arrest. “When we were informed about the sudden arrest and detention of our breadwinner we then began to search for him and later traced him to the NIA office in Banjul. We visited the NIA on Saturday 17 October 2015 with a bowl of food, clothes and other needs but we were told by agents we met at the gate that food and other items would not be allowed in and we were also not allowed access,” the source said.
According to a family source, while still in custody at maximum security wing on Tuesday, 21 June, they attempted another visit to him but were again denied access. “Some family members went there to appeal to the prison authorities to allow them access to atlas talk to him briefly after having spent nine months in detention but they denied all our request,” source explained.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 120 DAYS:
 A former deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, MR. MOMODOU SARJO JALLOW, since on Friday, 2 September, 2016, is under detention at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul and is denied access to his defense counsel and family members as well.
A concerned family source who has been moving from place to place for the NIA to release their main breadwinner, said: “On Thursday, morning of 22 December, his Lawyer and I went to NIA again to request for access to him but we were told by some agents that their boss stepped out and asked us to return in the afternoon. Upon our return we were told the same thing that we should return in evening, and when we returned in the evening we were told the same thing again. We see this as unfair treatment,” he said.
Family members have called respect for section 19 of the Constitution which stipulates that a person detained should be released within 72 hours or taken to court.
The family had filed a suit in court for the release of Mr Jallow and the court ordered for his release but he is yet to be released. On 17 October 2016, Justice Otaba of the Special Criminal Division of the High Court in Banjul granted bail to Mr. Jallow in the sum of D200, 000, with two Gambian sureties, with a property of the like sum. The trial judge also ordered for the accused person to submit his travelling documents to the Principal Registrar of the high court and for the sureties to swear to an affidavit of means.
According to them they have met all the conditions that were imposed by the court but they were told that one thing is remaining which is his travelling documents and that one was taken by unidentified men in plain clothes who came to arrest him on Friday, 2 September, at his residence at Manjai Kunda..
“We have written to the Attorney General a few days ago requesting for an intervention but up to date we do not any reply yet,” he said.
According to the wife, her husband’s house was burgled twice and his personal laptop was taken away during the burglary.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR:
ALHAGI CHERNO GASSAMA the imam of Dasilami Mosque in Lower Fulladou West District, is said to be still held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR) without access to family members or a charge preferred against him.
Imam Gassama was earlier picked up and taken away on Monday, 2 November, 2015 at his residence by agents of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), accompanied by a police officer from the Brikamaba police station.
Family members told this paper that upon arrival at the station, he was detained briefly before being finally moved to the CRR prison on the same day. They added that they were never told or aware of the reason(s) for his held. They have urged the outgoing government to release their imam.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 254 DAYS:
 HARUNA GASSAMA, former President of the Rice Farmers’ Cooperative Ltd, is still detained at the Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR) without trial or access to family members.
He was picked up on Saturday, 23 April 2016 around 1pm at his home in Darsilami in CRR by some men in plainclothes who asked him to go with them to Brikamaba police station where he was put behind bars for hours before being sent to the prison as where he clocked 254 days in detention.
“We were not informed about the reason for his arrest and detention for the second time, adding that his own motor bike was also taken away by the state security agents,” the source said.
Mr. Gassama was elected unopposed as president at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the rice farmers’ cooperative on 5 January 2012. He was later arrested on 2 March 2015, the very day when officials from the Sheriff Division of the high court came to Lower Fulladu District to execute the order of a judgment delivered on the 12 January which is in favour of the plaintiff (Mr. Gassama and his newly elected committee). The NIA detained him for 185 days before he was released on 3 September last year. He was re-arrested in late April 2016.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 261 DAYS:
 DEMBO DARBOE, ALIAS TOURAY DARBOE, a residence at Kafuta in the Kombo East, West Coast Region, was arrested and detained at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters since on 16th April, 2016, his brothers or wife cannot access him.
According to his brother, Balla Darboe, the situation of their brother is still the same; they were denied access to see him anytime they visit the NIA. “I went there two weeks ago but I was not allowed to see him, even though they confirmed to me that he was still in their custody. In his entire period of detention, it was only once that one of my sisters met and talked to him,” he added.
Touray Darboe’s arrest came in the wake of the arrest of leadership of the United Democratic Party (UDP), including its party leader Lawyer Ousainou Darboe and other members, when they staged a peaceful demonstration to demand for Solo Sandeng, one of their members, to be produced either dead or alive.
A source revealed that it was on the same day (April 16) when two NIA operatives came to their family residence in Kafuta and picked him up, adding that since then he has not been released.
The family members have expressed concern over the unlawful detention pointing out that their loved one was in his home village at the time of the 14 and 16 April incidents.
The aging mother and wife of the detained Mr. Darboe, who has a history of mental ill health, are appealing to the authorities to release their son and husband who is vulnerable to a relapse if he does not take his medication.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 54 DAYS:
 OMAR MALLEH JABANG, a businessman, who was abducted in broad daylight at Abuko Abattoir on Thursday 10 November 2016 by three men in plain clothes is still out of sight.
According to family source they have reliable information that their father is under the custody of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul but that any time they visit the Agency for access the agents would always told them that he is not with them.
‘‘Since his abduction by plainclothes officers none of his brothers especially the wives have access to him which is causing them sleeplessness and desperation,” the source said.
Family members are calling his immediate release.
According to a source at the Abattoir the ardent supporter of the Independent Candidate, Dr Isatou Touray was picked up from the Abattoir between 9am and 10am by a white pickup with a numberless number plate. Disclosing the fact, source added that they heard Omar asking them why he was being arrested and he was told that he would be told later; that two of them boarded the pickup with him while the third abductor drove Mr Jabang’s Pajero.
The arrest was preceded by phone calls and tracking of his pajero by a black jeep. Unknown callers purporting to be calling from the PMO had asked him on two occasions to report for work as he was being reinstated to a job he lost some five years ago but that he did not go. However, when he was invited by a caller to the Abuko Abattoir he went and that was the time he was abducted. Family members say that they noticed that as Omar Jabang left his home in Nema Kunku the same black jeep followed him.
They added that they received information of his abduction soon after it took place but whenever they called his four phone numbers the phones kept ringing without a response. They expressed concern for his safety and security.
They say they have reported the matter to the police at Nema Kunku and Bundung. The police at Nema Kunku have recorded the complaint in their diary while the police at Bundung have referred them to the PRO at the police headquarters in Banjul. They pursued the matter but without results.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 6 MONTHS:
 MR. SANUSI SANYANG, a resident of New Jeshwang, has gone missing for 6 months 32 days and none of his brothers nor wife knows where he is up to date.
When his wife, Awa Jammeh, was contacted on the issue of her husband, she said that they have made several search since he was picked up at their compound but yet still there is no sign of him. “We have visited the known detention centres within the Greater Banjul area but what they always told us is that ‘they do not have any name like Sanusi under their custody. We are currently making further enquiries from our relatives in the country, whether they have heard anything about my husband’s whereabouts,’’ she explained.
The mother of 5 children is still calling for the release of her husband or an investigation on his whereabouts as they cannot sleep without his return.
Mrs. Jammeh had earlier walked into the Foroyaa’s office on 27 September, to explain her ordeal and solicit support in her efforts to search for her husband, adding that their loved one was picked up on 10 May 2016 and never returned home.
“I was in our house together with my husband while our kids were outside playing around 3 pm when a group of men in plain clothes were seen outside our compound with a vehicle with tinted glasses. An unknown person came into the house and informed Sanusi that some men standing outside were asking for him and when he (Sanusi) stepped out he was immediately forced into the waiting vehicle and then whisked away,” the wife narrated.
The distraught looking wife, who was almost in tears, explained the agony and suffering which she now finds herself in as a mother of four children, including a 1 year seven months old baby, following the abduction and disappearance of her husband for more than four months now.
Mr. Sanyang is a painter by profession and is residing with his family in New Jeshwang.
The wife explained that she does not know the reason why her husband was abducted. She said since the day he went missing none of his relatives has seen him or knows his whereabouts.
“I’m really worried about the education of our children. They are presently going to school. The little income I earn from laundering is not sufficient to support even our survival,” she disclosed.
Expressing the painful moment and economic hardship she and their children are going through, she said she cannot find support for their 5 young family and appealed to the authorities to release her husband who is a father of 4 kids.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW:
 A former soldier of the Gambia Armed Forces went missing on 21 March 2006. LIEUTENANT EBOU LOWE is nowhere to be traced by his family members.
According to his brother who has been visiting Foroyaa’s office on several occasions to report the disappearance of his brother (Lowe) they still cannot locate him and blamed the government refusing to investigate whereabouts.
“We haven’t seen him or received any information regarding his whereabouts and have been visiting the prison without success,” said the brother.
Following the announcement that the president was going to release detainees and convicted prisoners, the family was very optimistic that their loved one who has disappeared for more than a decade would be among those to be freed. He explained that they went to Mile Two prison on the 24 July 2015 in anticipation that he would be among those going to be released, but were disappointed that he was not among those released.
Reports reveal that Lt. Lowe was among the military officers who were arrested in the wake of the 21 March 2006 attempted coup to overthrow the APRC regime. It was later announced by the state owned television (GRTS) on 4th April 2006 that Lt. Ebou Lowe had escaped with four other security officers while being transferred to Janjangbureh prison in the hinterland. Since then none of his family members has seen or heard from him.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW:
 CHIEF EBRIMA MANNEH, a former State House senior reporter and Crime Watch columnist of the Daily Observer Newspaper also disappeared after his arrest by the state agents.
According to reports journalist Manneh was picked at his workplace in Bakau and taken to different detention centres in the country and that occurred immediately after the African Union (AU) Summit hosted by The Gambia in Bakau on 7 July.
Chief Manneh’s brother earlier revealed that they have not set an eye on their since the day he stepped out for work at Bakau. “We are appealing to the general public that anybody who locates our brother let them contact his family members immediately,” he added.
An old man said to be Chief’s father was in tears while explaining the situation of his missing son, said that he would not rest searching or stop requesting from the government about journalist Manneh’s whereabouts. I would do all means to mobilise religious leaders to accompany us to President Yahya Jammeh at his residence in Kanilai to enquire from him about my son (Ebrima Manneh).’’
Chief Manneh’s aging father has been making frantic efforts in search of his son since inception. He said he first visited all the known security detention centres around the country without any trace of his son and had also approached personalities such as the then NIA Director General, Mr Harry Sambou; the then IGP, Mr. Ousman Sonko; the then State House Imam, Abdoulie Fatty and the Vice President Madam Isatou Njie-Saidy to help in the efforts to trace Chief Manneh, but to no avail. The family is calling on the state to mount an investigation into the disappearance of their loved one, because they are very much traumatised about the disappearance.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) based in Accra, Ghana, filed a suit against the Gambia government at the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, Nigeria on 19 June 2007. The court held several proceedings but since the commencement of proceedings on 16 July 2007, the Government of The Gambia repeatedly failed to appear before the ECOWAS Court after being served with several summonses. While the plaintiffs presented two witnesses from The Gambia who testified against the Gambia, the state failed to secure the appearance of senior Police and Military officers who were subpoenaed to testify.
On 5 June 2008, the ECOWAS Court entered judgment in favour of the missing journalist and ordered the Gambian government to release and compensate him an amount of 100,000 Dollars but still now nothing has been done.
The position of the Gambia Government as expressed by its agents has been inconsistent to say the least. The Gambia government never made any public comment about the missing Journalist until February 2009 when the matter of Chief Manneh was raised in Parliament by the then Minority leader Momodou Sanneh. The then Justice Minister Mrs. Marie Saine Firdaus stated that Chief Manneh had never been in state custody.
However, her successor Mr. Edward Gomez, told Daily News, that Chief Manneh was still alive but failed to give any supportive evidence about his claims. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Yankuba Sonko at the time also told a local newspapers that the missing journalist is residing in the United States of America, but he also failed to give provide any evidence.
The Solicitor General, in 2008 told Amnesty International Researchers that the government believed Chief Manneh was abducted as it has been claimed, though nobody from the government had been involved.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS NOW:
  ALHAGIE MAMUT CEESAY and EBOU JOBE, both are Gambian US citizens, were abducted by known men on Saturday, 22 June 2013 in Brusubi while on holiday in The Gambia. Their family members couldn’t have any clue as to where they are kept.
Family members have been reporting the matter at social media or to human rights organizations to demand justice for their loved ones but there is yet no response from the Gambian authorities.
The two were abducted from the same apartment at Brusubi on the same day. According to family sources, the duo came to The Gambia with the intention of investing in a cashew export business.
A release issued by the Ceesay family indicated that Alhagie and Ebou came to The Gambia to invest and contribute to the Gambian economy. The two had a lease agreement for office space which they rented while in The Gambia.
Mr. Ceesay is said to have completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington (Seattle) and later worked for Chevron Texaco for 11 years as an Infrastructure systems analyst. He recently obtained his MBA in 2013. He is married and has two children.
As for Mr. Jobe, he is said to have graduated from the University of Washington and worked at Wal-Mart as an Operations Manager. He is also married and has three children.
A family source has indicated that the police have been informed and are fully aware of the disappearance of the duo but are yet to come up with any findings regarding their whereabouts.
The US government has been pursuing the matter with the Gambia Government and did raise the matter at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
A former US Charge d’Affaire said at a press conference in 2014 that, “As far as I know, they were picked up and disappeared and we have asked the Gambia Government to investigate.”
He disclosed that they have even offered the services of the FBI to help in locating these two US citizens and added that they will leave no stone unturned in searching for their nationals.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW:
A native of Jarra who was residing in Bonto village in Kombo East of the West Coast Region (WCR) and a former staff of the Christian Children Fund, (now Child Fund The Gambia) MR. LAMIN KANYI (ALIAS KANYIBA), was abducted in the Gambia on 18th September 2006 by men in plain clothes believed to be security agents, including a police officer in uniform in the presence of his family and since then he has never been seen or heard.
According to a family source they don’t know whether Kanyiba is still alive or not. “Both his father and brother have passed away and he has not witnessed any of the burials or 40 Days charity because he was abducted by the agents and nobody knows if he has also passed away or not. His father died while he was in stress due to the abduction of his son,” he lamented.
He added that this is the greatest sadness they had ever encountered in life, adding that their family have been in turmoil since Kanyiba was whisked away.
According to eyewitnesses, Lamin Kanyiba was abducted around 9:00pm by three men who demanded to see him in camera; that Kanyiba then asked them to identify themselves and their mission which they refused to disclose. “The said men in plain clothes then called a taxi driver who was some metres away from the scene. Within a twinkle of an eye, the taxi driver arrived, Kanyiba was forcefully pushed into the taxi and then whisked away in full view of his family, leaving the wife and family in tears,” said a family member.
Another family source disclosed that shortly after Kanyiba was whisked away, his younger brother was also arrested and detained overnight at the Serious Crime Unit (SCU) at the Police headquarters in Banjul but was later released. The family source says that they have been traumatized and are seriously affected by the abduction and disappearance of their loved one since 2006.
Sources add that at the time of Kanyiba’s forced disappearance, his wife was pregnant and later delivered a baby girl who is now 10 years old and attending school.
It was further revealed that Kanyiba’s aging father died shortly after a visit to Kanilai to request for an audience with President Jammeh, audience he was unable to obtain.
His family members also filed a writ of “Habeas Corpus’ at the high court but he was not produced before the court neither was he released contrary to court order.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 11 YEARS NOW
A native of Kinteh-Kunda Marong Kunda in the Central Baddibu District of the North Bank Region (NBR), MR. LAMIN TUNKARA, was arrested on 21st July, 2005, by a combined team, comprising the CID (police), NIA agents and plain clothes officers, behind Albert Market in Banjul. Since then he has not been seen or heard of, up to date.
The family members earlier reported that Mr Tunkara’s house in Tallinding was ransacked by the said security agents who confiscated foreign denominations – CFA, US Dollars and Euros and Dalasi as well.
He was detained at the Police headquarters in Banjul for few days and later at the Kairaba Police Station. His family said while in detention, he was accused of being an agent facilitating the journey of nationals through the “back way” to Spain.
Since he was last seen at Kairaba Police Station up till now family members have no clue of his whereabouts.
DISAPPEARED FOR 10 YEARS:
Three close friends, ALHAGIE MOMODOU LAMIN NYASSI, ex-Chief of Foni Kansala District, NDONGO MBOOB and ALHAGIE BUBACARR SANYANG, District Coordinator of APRC in Foni Kansala, all natives of Bwiam in the West Coast Region, have gone missing and never returned home since they were arrested by men in plainclothes including a senior police officer in 2006.
According to a close family member of the ex-chief Momodou Lamin Nyassi, to their surprise their loved one was not among those released when amnesty was granted and a lot of prisoners were released last year.
“We do not know whether all these 3 friends are still alive or not and nobody had ever came and told us that our loved ones are held. We approached some security chiefs and other government officials to talk to the President to free their father”, adding that some months ago, they have visited both General Saul Badjie and Asobi Bojang (the mother of President Jammeh) so that they can talk to President Jammeh, but that all their efforts went in vain.
According to sources, ex-chief Momodou Lamin Nyassi, Ndongo Mboob and Bubacarr Sanyang were first arrested in 2004 and briefly held at Janjangbureh Prison in CRR but were later released.
He added that the ex-chief was re-arrested in 2005 by men in plain clothes and later arraigned at the Brikama Magistrates’ Court where he was convicted and fined D20,000 which was immediately paid by his family members. He was then set free.
It was reported that ex-chief Nyassi and Mboob were re-arrested by men in plain clothes including a station officer (S/O) from Sibanor Police Station on Tuesday evening, 4 April, 2006, whilst conveying his friend, Ndongo Mboob. The said men approached them and told them that they are wanted at state house. He said the ex-chief told the men in plain clothes to allow him handover his cell phone to his family and immediately after handing it over they were whisked away. “We then visited Sibanor Police station as we were able to recognise the station officer who came for our father. We enquired from him (the SO) his response was that ‘our loved one was not under their custody’ so we had no option but to return home until the following day to continue our search,” he disclosed.
“On the next day, we visited all known security detention centres in The Gambia, including Mile II Central Prisons, Janjanbureh Prison, NIA detention centre in Banjul and the Police headquarters, but we couldn’t trace him and we do not know the condition in which he is held or whether he is still alive. In fact his grand sons and grand daughters are all grownups now,’’ he said.
BUBACARR SANYANG (ALIAS BUBAI), a District Coordinator of 22nd July Movement in Foni Kansala, was also first arrested in 2004 while attending a community ‘Gamo’ (a muslim religious gathering for prayer, preaching and recitation of the Qur’an). ‘‘We were at the ‘Gamo’ when some men in civilian clothes came and told him that he was needed at a meeting in Basse and he was picked up. We were wondering as we did not see him for 3 days but he was later released,” said a family source.
In 2006, his second arrest came on the same day as with the chief and Mboob by three NIA operatives who informed him that he was wanted by someone in higher authority at the state house. The family said Bubai had just finished performing the ‘Maghrib’ prayer when the men came for him. They said Bubai had handed over his mobile phones to one of his wives at that juncture, and then the men whisked him away, adding that up to date they don’t know his whereabouts, or have not seen or heard from him.
DISAPPEARED FOR NEARLY 11 YEARS NOW:
A native of Dobong village, in the Foni Kansala District, JASARJA KUJABI, has disappeared since Wednesday, 27 July, 2005, after his house was ransacked by men claiming to be NIA agents who came in a numberless Nissan jeep with tinted glasses.
According to a family source when they heard the announcement over the TV that some convicted prisoners would be pardoned they also went to the said prison but that Jasarja was not part of those that were released and that they finally left the place with stress and agony. They added that they have visited well known detention centres but couldn’t trace him and that they had also approached the top security chiefs but all their efforts are in vain.
Family members earlier reported to this medium that they have not seen or heard from him since his disappearance in 2005 and that they are still wondering if their loved one is alive. “Since he was arrested by the agents, his absence is really affecting us a lot because we’re facing a serious financial crisis and he was the only financial support of his young family,” a family source added.
According to the family, Mr Kujabi was picked up from his farm and then taken to his house for him to change his clothes. The source indicated that he told his family that he was going but that they should not be bothered and that he was soon whisked away. His situation is still unknown to his entire family after 11 years now.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 11 YEARS NOW:
HARUNA JAMMEH of Kanilai was arrested together with Jisaraja in the same evening. He was put on board the same vehicle with Jisarja and whisked away by the state security agents. Since then these two are nowhere to be seen or heard of, up to date.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 11 YEARS NOW: MRS. MASIREH JAMMEH, a former employee at the State House in Banjul and also a native of Kanilai, is still missing since July, 15th 2005. The family said since then they have not seen or heard from her and do not also know where she is being held.
In the next edition we will deal with the categories of detainees who were released in 2016. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 04 Jan 2017 : 09:11:47
Kebba Sanneh finally released after 9 days detention
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: January 3, 2017
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13629
After having spent 9 days in incommunicado detention by the military police in Bakau barracks, Kebba Sanneh of Bakau was finally released on Sunday, 1 January, 2017 around 1pm, according to his mother.
Fatou Janneh said her son was released and brought home by one Njundu Drammeh, the National Coordinator of Child Protection Alliance (CPA), and a senior soldier in mufti.
She told this reporter on the phone yesterday that her son was at home resting as he was ill while in detention and is now convalescing.
It could be recalled that on 29 December, 2016, Kebba’s mother walked into Foroyaa’s office in despair to report the detention of her son for six days. She disclosed that the son was picked up on while attending a musical performance at the Independence Stadium in Bakau. She explained that she was told that her son had an altercation with someone who was purported to be a senior military officer in mufti and was eventually arrested by the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) and handed over to the Military Police.
She also told Foroyaa that they were not allowed access to see his son while in detention despite several unsuccessful attempts.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 31 Dec 2016 : 17:47:45
KEBBA SANNEH HELD BY MILITARY POLICE FOR 6 DAYS
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: December 30, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13617
One Kebba Sanneh, a 22 year old young man and resident of Bakau New Town, was arrested and held in the custody of the Military Police (MP) at Bakau Barracks since Saturday, 24 December, 2016 without access to his family.
Mrs. Fatou Janneh, mother of the said young man, walked into Foroyaa’s office in desperation yesterday to report the detention of her son for six days. According to her, it was on Saturday when Kebba went to the Independence Stadium in Bakau to attend the performance of a musician from Senegal. She explained that she was told that her son had an altercation with someone who was purported to be a senior military officer in mufti and was eventually arrested and taken away by the
Police Intervention Unit (PIU).
She further explained that the family members are not allowed access to see his son at his place of detention.
The young man’s mother claimed that the chief of defence staff, lieutenant general Ousman Badjie is even aware of the incident and that efforts are being made to secure his release.
She is therefore appealing for the release of her son who is presently undergoing a course at QuantumNet.
Editor’s Note
The GAF headquarters has been informed about the detention and Foroyaa will continue to monitor developments. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 29 Dec 2016 : 11:56:07
TWO DETAINED SOLDIERS FINALLY RELEASED After 28 days in detention without trial
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: December 28, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13576
 Two members of the Gambia Army Forces (GFA), namely SSgt. Samba Jawo and SSgt. Draman Jahateh, who were detained for 28samba-jawo-draman-jahateh days by Military Police (MP) at the Yundum Barracks, were finally released yesterday, 26 December, 2016 around 7pm, family sources revealed.
Asked if there were any charges preferred against them or whether they have been asked to be reporting on bail at the Barracks, the source responded that they were both released unconditionally.
It could be recalled that a sister to SSgt Jawo, had walked into Foroyaa’s office on 14 December, 2016 and reported that her brother and his friend SSgt Jahateh were picked up at night in the Yundum Barracks.
“They were arrested on 30th November before the election and we have been calling his cell phone but it was switched off. At first we thought they were on standby as it is the case during the election period but were later told by one of his colleagues that our brother has been arrested and was seen being taken away by state agents,’’ she disclosed.
The sister revealed that she and other family members had visited the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on numerous occasions to enquire about their loved ones, but were always told by the operatives that they do not know anything about the two soldiers.
Reports also revealed that SSgt. Jawo and SSgt. Jahateh were moved from the NIA headquarters to Yundum Barracks on Thursday, 15 December, around 4pm.
This development came in the wake of the publication of the detention of the soldiers by this medium on that same day, Thursday, 15 December. “Several attempts were made by us to access them at the NIA but without success. It was only on one Thursday evening when I received a phone call that our brother and Jahateh were returned to the Barracks and are currently in the custody of Military Police (MP),” she disclosed.
SSgt. Jawo and SSgt. Jahateh were held incommunicado at the NIA for 16 days before being handed over to the MP at the Barracks. Their continued detention contravened the Constitution which stipulates that a person detained should be released within 72 hours or taken to court.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 21 Dec 2016 : 21:26:17
EX-NIA AGENT FINALLY RELEASED After 319 days in detention without trial or access to family members
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: December 21, 2016
 An ex-agent of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Madikeh Faal, was released yesterday, 20 December, 2016, around ex-nia-officer-madikeh-faal4pm, after being unlawfully held incommunicado for 319 days at the maximum security wing in Mile Two prison.
His wife, Mrs. Fatou Mboob-Faal told this reporter over phone that her husband is a free man now and that they are currently jubilating. She added that some agents went to the prison and picked him up and took him to the NIA headquarters where he was freed. ‘‘We are thanking the entire team of Foroyaa for the reports on my husband’s situation and we are also praying such will never happen again as our 7 children and I have gone through a lot of difficulties,” she said.
Mr. Faal said he has finally reunited with his family, adding that he is safe and well.
Mr. Faal, a resident of Sinchu-Alagi, was arrested and detained since Wednesday, 17 Freburay, 2016.
While in detention, his wife, Mrs. Mboob-Faal had made several attempts to have access to him at the prison but they were all along denied access. She explained that when they visited the prison, they were told by the prison wardens that “they wouldn’t allow any family member to visit him there, until they get order from the top to do so.”
Furthmore she said that Mr. Faal’s arrest started on 15 February when he received a phone call from the NIA director asking him to go to their headquarters in Banjul to submit some court documents. She said her husband then complied and that after submitting the documents he returned home on that same day.
She added two days later, her husband again went to the mechanic to repair his taxi which had a breakdown and it was from there that he was invited again around mid day by the previous caller to the NIA. Madam Mboob-Faal noted that her husband, before leaving for Banjul, came home to inform their children.
Before joining the NIA in 2006, Mr. Faal had served in the Gambia Armed Forces for twelve (12) years. He then served the NIA for eight (8) years before he was arraigned in court in 2013 and subsequently sentenced to serve 10 months in prison. Following his release, he bought a vehicle and started working as a taxi driver to earn income to support his entire family. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 07 Dec 2016 : 22:35:51
MAGISTRATE DANSO RELEASED FROM DETENTION
By Abdoulai G. Dibba
Foroyaa: December 7, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13205
Information reaching this medium has it that Magistrate Surakata Danso of the Brikamaba Magistrates’ Court who was arrested and detained at the serious crime unit at the police headquarters in Banjul was released on Friday December 2.
According to the family source, Magistrate Danso who was arrested by the Brikamaba police on Tuesday 1 November 2016 at his residence in Brikamaba between the hours of 6pm and 7pm was detained at Brikamaba police station during the night of Tuesday and transferred on the following day to the serious crime unit at the police headquarters in Banjul where he was detained up to the time of his release.
“My uncle was finally released on Friday the day of the victory celebration of president elect Adama Barrow but no charges are preferred against him”. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 07 Dec 2016 : 22:34:18
GRTS’ BAKARY FATTY DETAINED AT NIA FOR 29 DAYS
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: December 7, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13207
 An asthma patient and an agriculture reporter at the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), has been detained at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul for 29 days without trial, according to a close family source.
According to a family source, on 6 November 2016, state agents allowed them to be taking food, water and other items to their loved one at the Agency’s office. When asked if they have been briefed by the authorities on why Fatty was arrested and held up to date, the source noted that they still do not know the reason behind his arrest and detention.
However, family members, including his wives and children are hoping to receive their father or husband back home safe and well, after being held in custody without trial.
One of his relatives disclosed that it all started when Bakary returned from Kanilai on Monday, 7 November and complained that his asthma had attacked him again. She said on Tuesday morning, while he was under treatment, he received a phone call from an unknown caller who told him that he is wanted at GRTS and Fatty replied to the said caller that he is ill and cannot go to the office.
‘‘Few minutes later, Mr Fatty kept receiving calls upon calls but his response to them was that he is ill and cannot go to the office,’’ the relative disclosed.
Around 12 noon, Mr Fatty, the bread winner of the family, received yet another call and this time the caller told him that his boss wanted him immediately at GRTS. The source further noted that Fatty had no option but to go and answer at the office.
‘‘While he was with one of the wives in his vehicle, the phone rang again and the caller asked for his location; but he told him that he was on his way to the office. He later dropped the wife at Farato as she was going to the clinic and he then proceeded,’’ the relative explained.
The relative revealed that the wife later received a phone call from her husband telling her that his office was filled with NIA agents who were taking him to their office in Banjul.
‘‘The wife overheard them telling him that he should switch off his phone and thereafter their communication was cut-off. The source explained that the family became worried and some of them including one of the wives visited the NIA headquarters but the agents there told us that they do not know Bakary Fatty,’’ the source said.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 20 Oct 2016 : 08:40:00
DETENTION OF IMAMS SAWANEH, COLLEY CLOCKS ONE YEAR
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: October 19, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/12462
 Alhagi Ousman Sawaneh, the Imam of Kanifing South and Sheikh Omar Colley, the Imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, haveSheikh Omar ColleyImam Sawaneh of Kanifing South Mosque now clocked one year in detention without trial or access to family members as both of them were arrested by unidentified men in civilian clothes and held incommunicado since October last year.
 The two are both reported to be held at the remote prison camp in Janjangbureh in the hinterland.
However, the family members of these two victims of long detention and impunity are suffering and being traumatised by the lack of access to their loved ones and their absence as breadwinners.
This reporter visited the respective homes of the two imams yesterday for an update and was informed by their loved ones that they are still being unlawfully detained.
One of the wives of Imam Sawaneh reported that he was still being held incommunicado as they have no access to see and provide him with clothes and toiletries.
It was earlier reported that Imam Sawaneh was picked up around 10 am on Sunday, 18 October, 2015, while leading a team of volunteers to clear the grass in the Kanifing South Cemetery. His whereabouts were not initially made known to the family but he was later traced to the NIA headquarters in Banjul. He was later transferred from the NIA to Janjangbureh Prison on the 27 October.
Family sources revealed that 2 men in civilian clothes came to their home and asked for him and were told that the Imam Sawaneh had gone to the Cemetery and that the unknown visitors then requested for his phone number which was given to them.
“After giving them the number, they left and did not disclose to us what their mission was but an eyewitness who was with the imam at the cemetery came and told us that he saw him being approached by two men who asked to see him in private and later went with him. We then called his cell phone but it was switched off and that was the time we began searching for him until he was finally traced to the NIA. He is now currently held incommunicado at Janjangbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR),’’ disclosed the family source.
With the filing of a writ of habeas corpus by the Imam’s family, the high court in Banjul ordered for the Imam’s release on Monday, 21 March, 2016, either conditionally or unconditionally.
Family members have said they do not know why he is still held in spite of the court order for his release. They have expressed their concerns over the detention of their loved one and are urging the authorities to release him.
Sheikh Omar Colley, an Imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, was also arrested on Thursday, 15 October, and currently detained at Janjanbureh Prison in the CRR.
When contacted, one of the brother’s of Imam Colley told this medium that their family member is yet to return home since he was asked by an unknown caller to report to the Yundum police station. He said several attempts have been made by them to secure his release but to no avail.
“We’re always wondering why the authorities are holding him at the prison without access to his family for more than a year now. This is very painful in our hearts,” he said.
Mr. Colley’s family is also renewing its calls on the authorities to release their husband and brother for the sake of justice.
The continued detention of Imam Sawaneh is in contempt of the ruling of the Banjul High Court which ordered for his conditional or unconditional release while Imam Colley’s long detention without trial is in gross violation of his constitutional rights. Section 19 of the Second Republic Constitution of The Gambia states that “Any person who is arrested or detained… who is not released, shall be brought without undue delay before a court of law and, in any event, within 72 hours.”
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| Momodou |
Posted - 15 Oct 2016 : 22:24:14
Dembo Touray Clocks 6 months in detention tomorrow
By Kebba Jeffang
Foroyaa: October 15, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/12412
 Dembo Darboe commonly called Touray Darboe from Kafuta in Kombo East is still being held at the National Intelligence Agency for 182 days on Saturday after being arrested on the 16th April, 2016 at his residence.
Despite all efforts by the family including his wife’s visit to Foroyaa to search for him, they do not still have any positive information about their loved one.
Talking to his younger brother, Balla Darboe, on 13th October, he said they have not made progress in accessing him after he was taken away by the NIA operatives who assured his immediate return after a brief questioning at the time of his arrest.
“Throughout his detention it was only one time one of our sisters met him at the NIA headquarters in Banjul where they exchanged words to some extent but since then no one has accessed him. We could not do anything more because we are desperate. We are praying hard for God to protect him for us. We have appealed to the authorities for his release but up to now there is no response from them,” said Balla Darboe.
Dembo was said to have been arrested by the NIA on the 16th April 2016, a day the executive members of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and supporters were arrested including the party leader Lawyer Ousainou Darboe while staging a peaceful protest in demand for Solo Sandeng to be released either dead or alive.
However, the family said Dembo was on that day in the village and did not take part in any protest staged by anybody. So they are surprised by his arrest and subsequent detention. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 22 Sep 2016 : 17:16:35
OUSMAN JAMMEH CLOCKS 339 DAYS IN DETENTION Family still calling for his release
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: September 20, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/12097
 The former deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Ousman Jammeh, who was arrested on 15th October 2015, is still languishing in Ousman Jammehdetention at maximum security wing in Mile Two prison without access to his family for 339 days as at today.
Mr. Jammeh, who had served as deputy agriculture of minister under the regime of President Yaya Jammeh for only 4 months, has been denied family visits and is yet to be brought before a court of law.
According to a close family source, they last saw their loved one that fateful day when he left his house to go to the provincial town of Basse to formally launch an official event in commemoration of World Food Day.
The source added that this long detention and denial of access to him has been traumatizing the family, especially Mr. Jammeh’s young wife and children and his mother.
The source also noted that the family was expecting that their loved one would be released from detention before the celebration of the Muslim feast of Eid ul Adha or ‘Tobaski’ held last Monday.
“We are calling on the authorities to release him to reunite with his young family,” said the source.
It could be recalled that Mr. Jammeh’s arrest was reported to his family by the two police orderlies attached to him at the time who witnessed the incident when he was whisked away in the presence of an intelligence operative. He was first held at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul for 91 days before being transferred to Mile Two Prison where he is detained incommunicado since then.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 25 Aug 2016 : 16:26:17
JABANG IMAM STILL INCOMMUNICADO FOR 316 DAYS
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: August 24, 2016
Sheikh Omar Colley, the Imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, continues to be held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in Sheikh Omar Colleythe Central River Region (CRR) for 316 days without access to his family, a brother revealed to Foroyaa.
When this reporter visited the home of the detained Imam yesterday 23 August, 2016 for an update on his detention, he was told by his family that he (Colley) is not yet released and is still held in this remote prison camp in CRR.
Asked whether the prison authorities have allowed any family member to see him, the source responded in the negative, adding that they are dumbfounded and are wondering what Colley must have done to warrant his long detention without access to his loved ones.
“We are therefore renewing our longstanding call for the authorities to facilitate the immediate release of our brother to enable him to reunite with his family and religious congregation as an Imam,” appealed one of his brothers.
It was earlier reported that Imam Colley was moved from Yundum Police station to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul after he presented himself there following instructions from a distant caller in Bansang.
One of his brothers had disclosed that it was while the Imam was at home on the day of his arrest that he received a phone call from someone who said he was calling from Bansang Police station. He said the caller asked him to report to the Old Yundum Police Station, adding that the said caller told the Imam to call him with his own mobile phone when he reaches the station so that he (the caller) could talk to the Station Officer (SO). He said this was around the time when the Imam was about to go to the mosque to perform his ‘Maghreb’ (twilight) prayers. He also explained that they accompanied the Imam to the station and while they were there, their brother called the said caller from Bansang for him to talk to the SO they found on duty. This SO later asked the Imam to hand over all his personal belongings e. g. mobile phone and enter into the cell.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 06 Jul 2016 : 17:36:48
A GOVERNMENT MUST LISTEN OR BECOME ALIENATED FROM THE PEOPLE
Foroyaa Editorial: July 6, 2016
The list of people who are detained without trial and who have disappeared without trace is not growing shorter. The additional display of impunity became evident when Justice Mahoney ordered for Imam to be released conditionally or unconditionally, and the order is still honoured with gross disregard.
This is a period when the state and the Gambian people should engage in stock taking. A government is established to protect the citizenry from oppression. This is only possible if there is the rule of law. The rule of law is inconceivable without the courts administered by impartial and independent judges who would make decisions without being subjected to any direction or control by any other authority except the law. We are calling on the government to respect the decision of the high court in the case of Imam Ousman Sawaneh and public outcry should continue until this decision is respected. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 05 Jul 2016 : 19:23:16
DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL, DISAPPEARANCE WITHOUT TRACE CONTINUES
Foroyaa: July 5, 2016
By Mustapha Jallow
Arrests, unlawful detention without trial and disappearance without trace still continue unabated in The Gambia as many people such DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL as government officials, religious leaders, household heads, young people, etc. are being held incommunicado and without charge or court appearance since their abduction or arrest.
These protracted detentions without charge, trial or access to family members are in gross violation of the second republican constitution and amounts to impunity. Some of these detainees have spent months while others have disappeared for more than a decade now without any trace.
Some are held at different places of detention such as the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Police headquarters, Mile Two prison in the outskirts of Banjul and Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR).
The affected families left behind have confirmed and catalogued the trauma, hardship and devastation that the continued absence of their family heads has brought to them.
Below is the long list of the detained or disappeared persons, who were in some instances picked up by men in plain clothes who would come to their homes at ‘ungodly’ hours and in pick up vehicles with tinted glasses and then whisk them away to unknown destinations to commence their long and agonizing detentions without access to their families:
IN DETENTION FOR 52 DAYS: A member of the United Democratic Party (UDP), MODOU SARR, who was arrested 9 May 2016 by the Police Intervention Unit (PIU), is still under detention and was not part of those who were released recently among the 36, according to a family source.
According to a brother to Mr. Sarr their loved one has not returned home since then; adding that they thought that he would be part of those who were released but he was not. ‘‘We don’t know anything about his whereabouts and are receiving information that he is held at CRR prison,’’ he said.
Ajaratou Mberry Sarr, an elder sister to Mr. Sarr, who is ill and bedridden, earlier told this reporter at her residence in Banjul that they have not seen him since he left home on that fateful Monday and still do not know his whereabouts.
“We were only told that he was arrested on the way while going to the Kombos but have not heard from him since then and his wife is very worried as she does not know the whereabouts of her husband,” she said. She also said that Mr. Sarr is nursing an injury on one of his legs and needs treatment.
“I’m really concerned about his present state of health in detention and whether he is getting the necessary treatment from those holding him. He also left home putting on only one shirt and trouser which needs to be changed,” said the elder sister.
She said they want those who are detaining Mr. Sarr to let the family know where he is being held and to allow them have access to him in order to bring clean clothes and toiletries to him at his place of detention and to release him.
The National President of the UDP had earlier stated that 36 of their supporters were arrested by the PIU around Kanifing on 9 May while en route to the Kombos from Banjul after the court appearance of their party leader and other members on that day. Mr. Sarr is among the 36 UDP supporters who were arrested on this day and held incommunicado since then.
IN DETENTION FOR 80 DAYS: Dembo Darboe, alais ‘Touray Darboe,’ was reported been arrested by agents of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) at his residence in Kafuta since April 16, 2016 and taken to their headquarters in Banjul, where he is still under detention for 80 days.
The recent remarks of ‘Touray Darboe’ family: “We were really expecting his release since before the start of the month of Ramadan as he has not been charged or brought before a court. This expectation was even very high when we heard about the release of those people who were charged and taken to court. Unfortunately, he is still being held incommunicado and the family still does not know why he is detained.’’
The family continued to plead with the authorities for the release of their loved one, ‘Touray’ Darboe, for the sake of his state of health as he has a history of mental illness.
Both the wife and ailing mother of ‘Touray’ Darboe have also added their voices calling for his release.
Dembo Darboe
IN DETENTION FOR 52 DAYS: An 18 year old Lamin Sarjo, is still held at Janjanbureh prison in CRR. He is a nephew and apprentice of Malang Sarjo who was part of those UDP members who were released on 30 June at police headquarters in Banjul.
18 year old Sarjo was part of the 36 supporters who were arrested by the PIU around Kanifing on 9 May while en route to the Kombos from Banjul after attending a court trial of the UDP leader and other members.
IN DETENTION FOR 52 DAYS: Alagie Saidykhan, who is said to be a mentally ill and residing in Bakau was not part of those who were released recently and the family, confirmed that he is still held incommunicado.
Speaking to Foroyaa, Saja Sonko an uncle to the detainee, said that Saidykhan is not released and that they do not know the reason why he is not. He added that the long detention of Alagie has caused serious financially suffering of his wife which has motivated some UDP members to send money for her support and their sibling.
It was reported that Mr Sonko, (the uncle) said he personally visited the PIU and Mile Two prison but he was told by the officers he met there that Alagie is not under their custody.
Mr. Sonko also stated that it is mental illness that attacks him from time to time and on that fateful Monday, 9 May, Alagie went to Banjul to take his medicine at the clinic. ‘‘We are really concerned about his state of health and recently his wife had delivered a baby girl and we have done the naming ceremony at Jarra in his absence. His wife is in a sad situation and is very desperate about her husband. It’s almost one month now we cannot have access to talk to him or take food’’ Alagie’s uncle explained.
IN DETENTION FOR 261 DAYS: Alhagi Ousman Sawaneh, the Imam of Kanifing South, was picked up by unidentified men in civilian clothes around 10 am on Sunday, 18 October, 2015, while leading a team of volunteers to clear the grass in the Kanifing South Cemetery. His whereabouts were not initially known to the family but he was later traced to the NIA headquarters in Banjul. He was later transferred from the NIA to CRR Prison on the 27th October, 2015.
According to family sources, 2 men in civilian clothes came to their house and started asking about the Imam, adding that they told the said men that Imam Sawaneh has gone to the Cemetery but they requested for his phone number which was given to them. “After giving them the number, they left and did not disclose to us what their mission was but an eyewitness who was with the imam at the cemetery came and told us that he saw him being approached by two men who asked to see him in private and later went with him. We then called his cell phone but it was switched off and that was time we began searching for him until he was finally traced to the NIA. He is now currently held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR),’’ family sources revealed.
A family source said that they were hoping that their loved one would be released before the commencement of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the court had already ordered the state to do so. He is still held incommunicado without access to family members.
With the filing of a writ of habeas corpus by the Imam’s family, the high court in Banjul ordered for the Imam’s release on Monday, 21 March, 2016, either conditionally or unconditionally.
Family members have said they do not know why he is still held in spite of the court order for his release. They have expressed their concerns about the detention of their loved one and are urging the authorities to release him.
IN DETENTION FOR 264 DAYS: Mr Ousman Jammeh, a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture under the regime of President Yaya Jammeh, was removed on Thursday, 15 October, 2015 and arrested and detained on the same day at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul, where he had been held incommunicado for 91 days before being transferred to Mile Two Prison.
Mr Jammeh had left his home on Thursday, 15 October, to officiate the commemoration of World Food Day in Basse, Upper River Region (URR). It was while he was on his way to the event that he received a phone call from an unidentified caller who asked him to cancel his trip and return as he had an urgent meeting to attend at state house. While following the instruction, Mr Jammeh was immediately picked up by men in plain clothes and taken away in his official vehicle to the NIA.
A source disclosed that the two orderlies of Mr Jammeh were escorted by the agents to his family residence in Kanifing South where the news of his arrest was disclosed to his family.
“When we were informed about the sudden arrest and detention of our breadwinner, we then began to search for him and later traced him to the NIA office in Banjul. We visited the NIA on Saturday 17 October 2015 with a bowl of food, clothes and other needs but we were told by agents we met at the reception that food and other items would not be allowed in and we were also not allowed access to him,” said the source.
It was also reported that Mr Jammeh is still being held at Mile Two prison in the maximum security wing without access to his entire family. The family attempted several visits, the latest being Tuesday, 21 June, but to no avail as the prison authorities would not allow them access to him.
“Some family members went there to appeal to the prison authorities to allow them access to at least see and talk to him briefly after having spent nine months in detention but they denied their request,” said the family source.
The source further disclosed that Mr. Jammeh’s mother is traumatised by the long detention and lack of access to her son. “We have been trying everything in order to meet with officials who are close to the president to appeal on our behalf for his release but so far we have not succeeded,” added the source.
The source also revealed the ordeal and agony that the family is going through with the absence of the sole breadwinner and household head especially during this fasting month of Ramadan.
Expressing their concern about the denial of access to him and the refusal to even receive his clothes, a distraught family member said, “We do not know what our loved one has done to warrant his detention and denial of access. His children keep asking for him and we cannot tell them that their dad is arrested. We told them that he has travelled and is yet to come.”
IN DETENTION FOR 264 DAYS: An Imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, Sheikh Omar Colley, was also arrested on the same day as deputy minister of agric on Thursday, 15 October, 2015, and is still held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR) without access to family for 264 days.
‘‘We were expecting that our brother would be released as the holy fasting of Ramadan approached so that he can sharing it with his young family but he is still held and no one knows why he is held. It’s now 9 months and we do not have any access to him, which is really disturbing the entire family members,’’ Imam Colley’s brother said.
According to the brother they were informed that some people who were detained at Janjangbureh prison were taken to police headquarters for their release but that when they went there they couldn’t see him among detainees who were released at the headquarters in Banjul.
Family members of Imam Colley are still pleading with the authorities to release their loved one from detention.
Imam Colley was transferred from Yundum Police Station to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul less than a day after he presented himself there following instructions he received from a distant caller in Bansang.
A close brother to the detainee revealed that while the Imam was at home, he received a telephone call from someone, who claimed to be calling from Bansang Police Station and asking him to report to Old Yundum police station. He said the unknown caller was said to have told Imam Colley to call him with his mobile phone when he reached the station so that he (the caller) could talk to the station officer (SO). He added that this was said to be around the time when the Imam was about to go to the mosque to perform his ‘Maghreb’ (twilight) prayers.
He further explained that they accompanied Mr. Colley to the station and while they were there, their brother called the said caller from Bansang to talk to the police officer they met there. This police officer later asked him to hand over all his personal belongings e.g. mobile phone, wrist watch, rosary beads, etc., and enter into the cell. He said the brother then complied with this police order.
It was also disclosed that when they returned to the station around 7am the next day on Friday, they were told by the police officers they met there that their brother was no longer in their custody. He said the brother was later traced at the NIA headquarters in Banjul, but they were denied access to him while he was held there before his current detention at Janjangbureh Prison.
He said that Imam Colley was held incommunicado at the NIA headquarters in Banjul for 48 days and that while they were making efforts to access him, they received information that the Imam had been transferred from the NIA to Janjangbureh Prison in the Central River Region (CRR).
IN DETENTION FOR 247 DAYS: IMAM of Dasilami in Lower Fulladou West District, Central River Region (CRR), CHERNO GASSAMA, is still under detention without trial at the Janjanbureh prison in CRR without release or court appearance for 247 days.
According to sources they were not informed about the reason for the arrest and long detention without release or court appearance of their Imam.
Reports earlier indicated that Imam Gassama was arrested on Monday, 2 November 2015, at his residence by an operative of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), who was accompanied by a police officer in uniform from Brikamaba Police Station.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Jun 2016 : 12:51:01
Ousman Jammeh, Imams Alhaji Ousman Sawaneh, Sheikh Omar Colley and Cherno Gassama should not be in prison The Law does not permit their imprisonment and should be released
Foroyaa Editorial: June 28, 2016
Section 31 0f the Prison Rules state that no prisoner shall be admitted to a prison unless accompanied by a remand warrant, a warrant or order of detention, a warrant of conviction or of committal or an order of a court martial.
The only reservation deals with the child of a female prisoner.
Section 31 adds that “The Child of a female prisoner may be admitted into prison with its mother if it is less than two years old or if the medical officer of the prisoner so advices.”
At no time should the officer in charge of a prison admit a person to a prison unless he/she verifies that “the prisoner is the name in the warrant or order and that such warrant or order bears the signature and seal of the proper authority and in all other respects comply with the requirements of law.”
The officer in charge should refuse to accept a prisoner if such conditions are not met.
The families affected should seek legal counsel to pursue this matter. Detainees who are not charged after 72 hours are unlawfully detained and any authority that issues a warrant to commit them to a prison would have performed an unlawful act. |
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