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Momodou
Denmark
11508 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Jan 2022 : 22:57:49
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Why is Gen. Saul Badgie not arrested and court martialed ?
By Madi Jobarteh
When generals Umpa Mendy and Ansumana Tamba returned from Equatorial Guinea they were arrested and put to a court martial in 2019. But they got freed from desertion charges because they claimed they were asked by Gen. Badgie to accompany the Tinpot Dictator into self imposed exile.
These two generals claimed Saul Badgie was their commander and he gave them the order to leave The Gambia! Therefore they claimed the army command knew of their whereabouts.
Therefore, now that Saul Badgie himself who also deserted the army for five years is back in town, why has the CDS Gen. Yakuba Drammeh failed to immediately arrest Badgie and send him to a court martial?
Who gave Saul Badgie the authority to leave the army and The Gambia in 2017? As Commander of the Army at the time, Gen. Badgie was answerable to the CDS Ousman Bargie. Did the CDS Bargie give him the order to leave or not? The court martial should determine that.
It is clear that the time Gen. Saul Badgie left the country the Commander-in-Chief of The Gambia Armed Forces was Pres. Adama Barrow who was sworn in on January 19, 2017. Did the President give order to Saul Badgie to leave The Gambia National Army and follow the Tinpot Dictator at that time? The court martial should determine that?
Without a court martial on what basis should Saul Badgie be allowed return to the country and left to go home freely? Is he still the army commander or not? Did he resign or was he sacked or retired? What is the legal basis for any action he has taken or taken against him? The Gambia Armed Forces Act is very clear about the lawful and unlawful actions of soldiers. Has the CDS enforced the Act in the case of Gen. Saul Badjie?
Therefore why is The Gambia Government failing to hold Gen. Saul Badgie accountable? The Minister of Defense and the CDS owe Gambians a story as to why they have failed to subject Gen. Saul Badgie to accountability and for disciplinary measures if found wanting?
Gen. Saul Badgie should face accountability for his desertion of the army. This is what the National Security Advisor Gen. Momodou Badgie should have advised the Government to do! General Saul Badgie needs to explain if he had lawful orders to be absent from duty and post or not. Failure to subject him to an accountability process is to condone misconduct, abuse of power, disregard of the rule of law and impunity.
For The Gambia Our Homeland
Related Topic: https://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17984
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11508 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jan 2022 : 12:16:13
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Reed Brody doubts amnesty for Saul Badjie
The Standard: JANUARY 5, 2022
By Omar Bah
https://standard.gm/reed-brody-doubts-amnesty-for-saul-badjie/
Reed Brody, the American human rights lawyer famous for hunting dictators and bringing them to justice, has said he is not sure that former state guard commander General Saul Badjie will be granted amnesty.
Last week, the former powerful state guard commander Saul Badjie, implicated in several crimes by the TRRC, returned to Banjul from Equatorial Guinea with nearly a dozen personal security details of former president Yahya Jammeh. However, the return of Jammeh’s former strongman is rumored to be part of a deal to grant him amnesty.
But speaking to The Standard yesterday Brody, who successfully worked to bring former Chadian dictator Habrè to justice, said: “The TRRC recommended that Saul Badjie be prosecuted for five cases, including the killing of Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe, the killing of Ndure Cham, the murder of Mustapha Colley, the execution of nine Mile 2 inmates and the killing of Tumani Jallow.
“So he is on the list. There is a process for getting amnesty, but I’m not sure that it would apply to Saul Badjie because he did not make a full disclosure of his acts or express remorse, and even then, he could not be granted amnesty if his alleged acts form part of a crime against humanity. “There are those not eligible for amnesty because their acts form part of a crime against humanity, and those who are eligible,” he said.
Brody said the legal test for whether “a killing forms part of a crime against humanity is whether the perpetrator acted with knowledge of the broader context of the crimes, which would seem to apply to someone like Saul Badjie”.
TRRC
The TRRC has called for Yahya Jammeh and his henchmen to be brought to justice, it has presented all the evidence linking them directly to murder, torture and rape, and it has even suggested what kind of court should prosecute them.
However, Brody added: “After the powerful public testimonies at the TRRC which deeply impacted Gambians, there is an expectation and a demand, both at home and abroad, that the Gambian government will now deliver justice without further delay for victims who have already waited five years, and in some cases much longer. There is still a lot that needs to be done to get there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Yahya Jammeh in a court sooner rather than later.”
Reed, who is now with the International Commission of Jurists and advises Jammeh’s victims, said the TRRC’s powerful and well-documented report provides the roadmap, but there are still many rivers to cross, and everything depends on political will, in The Gambia and the region, to make justice happen.
“The government needs to decide how to prosecute the perpetrators and if, as the TRRC suggested, it decides to set up a special court with Ecowas or the African Union, it needs to get the court funded and established. In the case of Jammeh himself, regional buy-in, especially from countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal whose citizens were killed in The Gambia, will be key to persuading Equatorial Guinea that it needs to turn Jammeh over. All these could take time, but the victims have already been waiting a long time, and they deserve for the government to move quickly,” he added. |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11508 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2022 : 17:17:26
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THE STATE VS GENERAL SAUL BADJIE, LANDING TAMBA & WO MUSA BADJIE.
By Kexx Sanneh
The Judge Justice Zainab Jawara-Alami of the High Court entered the courtroom @ 10:30 am and the Clark announced the case as The state vs General Saul, Landing Tamba & WO Musa Badjie.
Sheriff Kumba Jobe announced representing General Saul Badjie and Co while Lawyer Patrick Gomez announced representing the state.
The Judge asked General Saul and Co to enter the dock of the court but Lawyer, Lawyer Jobe said his clients are not charged therefore cannot enter the dock.
“What we have before the court is a civil proceeding, which is an application by the State,” Jobe said.
However, the Judge asked them to enter the dock.
Then the state counsel informed the court that the State filed an application seeking a court order to keep Saul Badjie and the two others in detention for 90 days to permit and facilitate further investigation pending preferring formal charges.
The Judge asked the defence counsel whether he received the application and he (Lawyer Jobe) said he received the application in the court today morning.
State counsel then apologize for not serve of the application to the defence team which was accepted by the lawyer Jobe.
The application is supported by an affidavit sworn to by one Jall M.I. Senghore, a police inspector working with the Gambia Police Force and it contains the following.
Senghore said these soldiers did not have the permission of the command of the Gambia Armed Forces to go on this journey and to remain for the duration of time they spent in Equatorial Guinea. He said the army at some time declared them as deserters.
During the period of stay of these soldiers and others who were part of the escort team of ex-President Yahya Jammeh to Equatorial Guinea intermittently interfere with the internal politics of the country.
He added that based on a number of security assessments posed and continue to pose threat to the country as a result of their past antecedents.
In 2018, the Gambia Government established a Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) and on the 25th November 2021 submitted their findings and recommendations to the Gambia Government.
On the 24th December 2021, the Government made public the findings and recommendations of the truth commission.
The TRRC report identified Saul Badjie and the two others as alleged perpetrators.
Senghore said the TRRC report recommended for further investigation to be carried out on the three detainees for alleged human rights violations that the Commission might not have been able to investigate.
Senghore said on 24 and 25 December 2021 two groups of the escorts of former President Jammeh came back to the Gambia and surrendered themselves to the security for screening. He mentioned that the three were part of the team.
Senghore said Saul Badjie during the screening exercise acknowledged that he was a member of the notorious Junglers group of the former head of state. He averred that General Badjie also disclosed knowledge of the commission of some grave offences such as the burning of the Independent Newspaper and the murder of two Gambian-Americans, the killing of Chief of Defense Staff Colonel Ndure Cham.
Senghore said during the screening General Badjje informed them that he was in touch with two people in a plot to carry out attacks to disrupt the elections.
In the course of preparing the affidavit, Senghore said he was advised by State Counsel Kimbeng Tah that there is a need to launch an urgent wide investigation into the alleged crimes which do not form part of the TRRC's findings.
Senghore said he is also aware that there is a need to investigate the sojourn of Saul Badjie and the other two in Equatorial Guinea and as this may have the potential of posing severe national security risks. He added that based on his experience, such investigation has to be in-depth and cross-border.
Senghore said Saul Badjie was the commander of the State Guard and de facto commanding officer of the Junglers hit squad while the other two were members of the Junglers squad.
“Releasing them into the public while investigations are ongoing is counterproductive to the investigation and could pose a serious national security threat,”
Senghore stated in the affidavit in support.
He said the three suspects never appear before the TRRC to give evidence whereas some members of the Jungulars testified before the truth commission and they were subsequently released.
Senghore said it is in the interest of the investigation that the three suspects be kept in custody pending the investigation which will take a minimum of 90 days.
“It is my assessment that releasing them into the public giving the past antecedents could pose threat to the security and it is not in the public interest,” Senghore concluded.
Lawyer Sheriff Kumba Jobe in his preliminary objection said the application lacks a base in law.
“There is no legal basis for the application. There is no law to support the application,” Lawyer Jobe said.
The court gave him 2 days to file his brief of argument in 2 days whereas the State is equally given 2 days to reply.
The case was adjourned to the 24th January 2022 at 1 pm for a ruling.
Source: Kexx Sanneh |
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Why is Gen. Saul Badgie not arrested?
