By Mustapha Jallow
The corpses linked to the 30th December 2014 insurgency are still being held at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) mortuary in Banjul for more than 5 months
now, after several unsuccessful appeals from some concerned families for them to be handed over for burial.
Following the reported attack on state house in Banjul late last year, the government of The Gambia announced that some of the insurgents lost their lives in the gun shot fire. Since then, the bodies of the victims are held at the said mortuary under armed guard by members of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF). Those who are said to have died during the incident include Lt. Col. Lamin Sanneh, former Commander of the Presidential Guard, who is alleged to be the coup leader by the state, Alagi Nyass, Capt. Njagga Jagne, former officer in the US army, and Bakary Bojang, alias Gosso, the mentally deranged young man from Banjul.
Visiting the mortuary on Thursday, 4 June, this reporter found that the place is being guarded by armed soldiers. When he approached them, a soldier referred him to the GAF Public Relation Officer.
When contacted to know why the corpses are still held under military guard, Lieutenant Malick Sanyang, the spokesperson of GAF, said “What I know and can confirm is that some of those who attacked state house got killed but I don’t know whether the corpses are held at the mortuary.”
The relatives of the dead persons, including the sick and bed-ridden mother of ‘Gosso’ have been making repeated appeals to the authorities to release the corpses of their loved ones in order to give a fitting burial in keeping religious rites.
The corpses that are kept at the Banjul mortuary are yet to be handed over to the respective concerned families.]]>
