There are mixed reports circulating about the circumstances
that led to the unceremonious arrest and subsequent sacking
of police chief Landing 13 Badjie. While dictator Jammeh
and his cronies want us to buy the "cooked" story
that 13 was wanting in his job as IGP, another report
hinted that the regime was unhappy with Badjie's
recent interest in pursuing the killers of journalist
Deyda Hydara and the independent newspaper arsonists. It
is reported that the State Guards are not happy
with 13's move to probe two of its personnel
linked to the Independent Newspaper arson attack. There
is a serious division between the army top brass
and the police. Another theory linked to Bajie's
removal was the confiscation of unnumbered vehicles used by
personnel of Jammeh's close protection unit and the NIA.
Well, Gambians can judge for themselves, as to which
of these stories they will buy.
One thing that i know government is about collective
responsibility. If there is failure in the system of
governance, it is unfair for an individual to be
pin point and be blamed for such short comings. But
this is typical under dictator Jammeh's rule. He always
sacrifice people, when there are problems or short
comings within his administration. From "monster" Yahya
Jammeh down to the last man in his government should
bear full responsibility for the growing insecurity in our
country. If 13 Badjie is guilty of "wanting of duty",
then all other security heads in that country including
Yahya Jammeh, the so called "Commander in Chief" of the
security forces are equally guilty.
Where was Yahya and his cronies when journalist Deyda Hydara
was ambushed and shot to death? Where was Yahya when the
Independent Newspaper was fire bombed twice? Where was Yahya
when about 14 students and journalist Omar Barrow where killed
by his security forces? Where was Yahya when the life
of human rights lawyer Ousman Sillah was attempted? Where
was Yahya when former finance minister Ousman Koro Ceesay
was killed? The fact of the matter is that Jammeh had
woefully failed as a leader. Jammeh is good at
sacrificing people. He had messed up our country and
he wants to drown with anybody that comes by his way.
That's the reality. Gambians should not be surprised
if more arrest are made in days to come. The
system had collapsed.
It was during 13's watch that Baba Jobe was tried
and imprisoned. It was during 13's watch that Tarik
Musa was arrested and deported. It was during 13
Badjie's watch that information minister Yankuba Touray was
arrested. It was during 13's watch that Jammeh's so called
operation no compromised was enforced. It was under
13's watch that prominent businessman Amadou Samba was
invited for questioning by the police in relation to the
Harris and Sonny's supermarkets expired food stuffs scandal.
Samba a close friend to the president was said to
have intimidated magistrate Moses Richard who was investigating
the supermarket food story. I do konw that the NIA, the
Police the Immigration, the Customs and Excise
Department and the Medical Health Department were involved in
the investigations of the super market expired food case.
A leaked memo i intercepted from the State House
in Banjul, ordered for the immediate closure of the two
supermarkets and the arrest of Amadou Samba, who was alleged
to have intimidated magistrate Richards. I remember
interviewing Mr.Samba as a journalist while in The Gambia
on the said subject. He denied being arrested, but
invited for questioning. It was Amadou's contention that,
magistrate Richards has no rights whatsoever, to confront
the supermarket owners. But Richards on the other hand
argued that, he had the constitutional rights to conduct
preliminary investigations on cases affecting public interest.
Richards claimed that Amadou must have business interest in
the two supermarkets, a charge Amadou vehemently denied.
I remember the proprietor of the supermarket SK Watwoni
telephoning the late Deyda Hydara from his home county India,
pleading that the Point should dropped the supper market expired
food story. SK was on holidays in India at the time. He
pleaded with Deyda for the story to be dropped, on the
grounds that it might have adverse effect on his business.
As the investigating reporter assigned to the case, Deyda
invited me in his office and informed me about SK's call.
"Well SK is worried about the future of his business. He
opined that the if the story is run it may scare his
customers. He telephoned me from India, begging that the
story should be dropped. I told him that you were on the
ground investigating and there is no way that we can dropped
such an important story. It deals with public health and
safety. We must go ahead with the story." Deyda told me.
I went ahead to piece up the story together for public
consumption. Weeks and months passed without the
proprietor of the supermarket being drag to court. In fact,
the high court master dismissed an order issued by the state
house for the closure for the super markets. The master
argued that the closure was illegal and ordered for the
reopening of the two stores. Under normal circumstances,
the state house cannot enforce the duties and responsibilities
of our courts. But since there is no rule of law in The
Gambia, Jammeh can behave any how he likes.
Now we are hearing that major Ousman Sonko of The Gambia
National army is heading the police Force. Where did he
studied basic police duties? Or is that he is brought
there as a "caretaker" IGP? Soldiers are trained to kill.
Is he brought there to reinforce Jammeh's "six feet
deep" threats since the elections are fast getting closer?
Or is that Jammeh lack faith in the current police
set up? Is dictator Jammeh telling us that there are no
competent men and women within the police force to succeed
IGP 13 Badjie? The Gambia is still under transition.
Jammeh is a soldier in disguise. He want to dine with the
military and the civilians at the same time. This is the
height of hypocrisy. One thing i know, his days are
numbered. He is creating more enemies than friends.
The hiring of Army commander Sonko as IGP, goes to confirm
my recent statement that Jammeh is a dictator. I hope
Gheran is reading developments at home. Where on earth,
do you see soldiers heading the police? Wrong people
for the wrong job. Gambians should not be surprised,
since our country had fallen into the hands of inexperienced
"military" politicians. Jammeh has no plans to step down
now from power. And he will do everything it takes to
stay in power. The appointment of Army officer Sonko
should not be treated lightly by Gambians. Jammeh is up
to something different from maintaining law and order in The
Gambia. Time will tell. Perhaps 13 Badjie, failed
to meet his "evil needs" and he had no option but
discard him as he did to Baba Jobe, Lang Conteh,
Yankuba Touray, Balise Jagne, Abdoulie Kujabi and others.
Being an experienced and seasoned intelligence officer, 13
Badjie should able to write his memories about this
regime. He had witnessed first hand, the atrocities
committed under Jammeh's rule. He was the police
crime coordinator when Gambian students and journalist Omar
Barrow were killed by the security. The question many
Gambians are asking these days are will 13 be braved enough to
set the records straight? Allegations levelled against
him are serious. And as a matter of fact, he
should do justice to himself to clear the air. We do
know that Jammeh is good at lying against people he
had fallen out with. It's up to the individuals he
lied against to set the records straight. As usual,
just my mind speaking.............................
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