Culled from The Independent

Woman alleges soldier brutality
Threatens court action

Mariama Sey, an FTI employee and freelance journalist has threatened court
action against soldiers who allegedly attacked and 'brutalised' her during
the last independence festival at the July 22nd Square.

Mariama, who looked battered and bruised as she complained to The
Independent about her alleged treatment, said she was angry and frustrated
over 'indifference' on the part of senior officers of the Gambia National
Army who she believed should not have wasted time to 'fish out' her
attackers and punish them according to the dictates of the law. She believed
that justice should be done especially considering that she is a woman.

Recounting the incident, a shocked Mariama said it all started when she and
her three children left their seats at the July 22nd Square to refresh
themselves with water and had requested the soldiers who were standing on
the way to allow them to pass. According to her, one of the soldiers reacted
offhandedly on them and ordered the other soldiers to 'kick her out of the
place'. Mariama believed that her 'harmless words' could not have caused the
brutality allegedly unleashed on her by the soldiers who, she claimed,
'slapped, knocked and kicked' her without mercy. She said that her treatment
is only fit for animals and should be taken seriously especially considering
that the brutality was meted out to a woman who had committed no crime and
'had the constitutional rights to be where I was that evening'.

Showing scars on her face and left hand, which she claimed were telltale
signs of her alleged beating, Mariama said she had reported the incident to
the Banjul Police, which had sent an officer to the scene in order to
identify her alleged attackers. According to her, she and her police escort
were refused entry.

'The next day I went to State House to confront those who attacked me,' she
explained. However, according to her the soldiers there told her that those
who stood guard at the square during the independence festival were from the
Fajara barracks. She said when she went to the Fajara barracks, she was told
that there was nobody to attend to her. 'But I raged and insisted to be
given an audience and one Captain Jallow promised to identify those who
attacked. But I was disappointed when I went to the barracks the next day,'
Mariama claimed.

She said later, she filed her complaint with the office of the Ombudsman who
promised to pursue the case with impartiality. She expressed confidence in
the office of the Ombudsman, calling on them to set precedence by punishing
soldiers who act arbitrarily on the people they are to protect.

When The Independent contacted the office of the Ombudsman, an official who
begged anonymity confirmed Mariama's story and promised that if it is true,
a precedence would be set.

Mariama Sey said she was determined to seek redress and in the process make
sure that soldiers do not take undue advantage over civilians simply because
they have guns. She said there is no excuse for the soldiers' behaviour,
suggesting that 'if this is the sort of soldiers we have, it is better to
quash the army.'

Mariama said she has since briefed her lawyer about preparations to take
court action.



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