So far, Ebou Jallow was the only one who gave detailed accounts of how Koro met
his death. I wonder if Ebou still stands by what he had already revealed?

Thanks for this reminder.

Read on!

----------------
Seven Years After Koro, the Facts Still Remain Hidden

The Independent (Banjul)
COLUMN
July 1, 2002
Posted to the web July 2, 2002

By D.A. Jawo
Banjul

It is exactly seven years today since Ousman Koro Ceesay, the then Finance
Minister of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) junta was found
dead in mysterious circumstances in the charred remains of his official car near
Jambur village in Kombo South. While there was a promise by the authorities to
investigate the circumstances of his death, still we do not seem to be anywhere
nearer a solution to the mystery; and no one seems to be talking about it in official
circles.

At the time of Koro's death, there were quite a lot of rumours and speculation as to
what might have been responsible. Therefore, particularly in view of the prominent
position he occupied in the regime and the very fact that he met his death shortly
after seeing off President Jammeh at the Airport, everyone expected the
government to mount on inquiry into the circumstances of his death. Some people
even called for the involvement of other more experienced investigating agencies
such as Scotland Yard of the United Kingdom and the FBI of the United States of
America, but the junta would not have any of that.

Even the inquest that was promised during his funeral never materialized, or at
least it was never made public. What was even more intriguing was the failure by
the authorities to make the autopsy report available to his family. According to his
father, the family has still not been officially told what their son died of.

The only other time that the government made any public response to critics of
their handling of the Koro case was when the then Minister of the Interior, Lamin
Kaba Bajo said they were unable to make any headway on the inquiry because
they have not had cooperation from the public.

Of course that explanation was just too incredible to be believed by anyone.

Seven years, no one still knows what the whole truth is. Was the junta really
genuine in getting to the bottom of the matter but they lacked the means and the
cooperation of the public, or was there anything they wanted to hide from the
public?

While we may never know the answers to the above questions, but Koro's death in
mysterious circumstances and the apparent lukewarm response by the junta to
public calls for an inquiry seems to have left an indelible mark on the sincerity of
the authorities to get to the bottom of the matter.







Road construction - a nightmare to commuter

It is quite a nightmare for commuter living between the Westfield Junction and
Tabokoto to move about. This is because the main road linking those areas has
been dug up in certain strategic location and as a result, vehicles have to divert
through narrow and sometimes very rugged streets. This is indeed causing quite a
lot of havoc to everyone, including motorists, commuter and even those residing in
the areas of the diversions. This is no doubt responsible for the numerous quarrels
and even conflicts between motorists and residents.

Who should we blame for this untenable situation; is it the government or the
contractors building the Westfield-Mandiba Road? Indeed both of them are
blameworthy. It is the duty of the government, through the Department of State for
Works and Construction and the Department of Technical Services to have never
allowed such a situation to arise in the first place. In the case of the contractors, it
is hard to understand why they should have waited until when the rains approach
before they would dig up such heavily built-up areas without putting up suitable
diversions. This is apparent disregard for the welfare and comfort of the people
living or traveling through that area. It is indeed quite hard to understand what type
of a strategy the contractors in the construction of the road are employing. There is
certainly no systematic approach to the problem. Rather than begin from one end
of the road to another, they seem to be working in patches, which seems to
compound the problems facing motorists and commuter alike, particularly with the
on set of the rains.

While the contractors have their own interests to pursue, it should have been the
responsibility of the Department of Technical Services to see to it that the interest
of the people was always protected. It certainly does not make sense to allow the
contractors to dig up the road at certain strategic locations in the heavily built-up
areas without any suitable diversions, particularly when the rains are approaching.
The contractors could have concentrated on the other less-populated areas until
after the rains in order to avoid the present chaotic situation.

There is no doubt that we all need good roads, but certainly not at such great
inconvenience to everyone. Therefore, on behalf of the suffering masses, we are
calling on the Secretary of State for Works and Construction and the Department
of Technical Services to plead with the contractors to restore those dug up areas
and open up the barriers to traffic until after the rains.

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