By Mustapha Jallow
The cases of disappearances, long incommunicado detentions without trial in gross violation of the law of the land and human rights of the victims still persist in the Gambia.
Detentions and disappearances ranging from under a month to more than ten years have been reported despite repeated appeals from the families of the victims for their loved ones to be released as well as a court order for one of the detainees to be released.
The following are the people detained at different places of detention while the whereabouts of others are still not known by their family members:
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 350 DAYS: The Imam of Kanifing South, Alhagi Ousman Sawaneh, is still held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR) for 350 days without access to family members, in contempt of a high court order for his release for more than six months now.
With the filing of a writ of habeas corpus by the imam’s family, the high court in Banjul ordered for the Imam’s release on Monday, 21 March, 2016, either conditionally or unconditionally.
“We’ve done everything in order to secure his release and had submitted all the documents which the detaining authorities requested from us for his release but since then there is complete silence from them. Some of our relatives have even visited the said prison but were not allowed to see or talk to him,” revealed a family source.
The source further revealed that what the detaining authorities also told them was that they should go home and wait as they will get back to them whenever they are ready.
The source added that since the imam’s arrest and subsequent detention, none of his relatives was allowed access to see or talk to him.
It was reported that Imam Sawaneh was picked up by unidentified men in civilian clothes around 10 am on Sunday, 18 October, 2015, while he was leading a team of volunteers to clear the grass in the Kanifing South Cemetery. His whereabouts were not initially known to the family but he was later traced to the NIA headquarters in Banjul. He was later transferred from the NIA to Janjangbureh Prison on the 27 October, 2015.
Family sources also explained that two men in civilian clothes walked into their compound and asked for the imam and were told that he has gone to the Cemetery, but that they (two men) requested for his phone number which was given to them.
“After they had taken the number, they left and did not disclose to us what their mission was but an eyewitness who was with the imam at the cemetery came and informed the family that he saw him being approached by two men who asked them to see him in private and later went with him. We then called his cell phone but it was switched off and that was the time we began searching for him until he was finally traced to the NIA. He is now currently held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR),” revealed the family source.
The source indicated that they were hoping that their loved one would be released before the commencement of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the court had already ordered the state to do so.
He is still held incommunicado in flagrant defiance of a court order.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 346 DAYS: Sheikh Omar Colley, who is said to be the imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, is currently held incommunicado at Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR) for 346 days.
One of the brothers of the detained imam told this medium that he is still detained at this provincial prison camp and denied visits from family members. He said they have made numerous attempts to visit their imam but were always told by the officers that they were not authorized to allow his family access to him.
“It’s very painful to pay fares to go all the way to this prison outpost only to be denied access to see or talk to our brother. We will continue to visit the prison and see if we would be lucky someday to be allowed to talk to him,” said the source.
He said the family is not informed about the reason why he was arrested and being detained.
The family source said they are still calling on the authorities to release their brother, who they described as a family head and the sole breadwinner to his young family.
It was reported that Imam Colley was at home on that fateful day when he received a telephone call from someone who claimed to be calling from Bansang Police Station and asking him to report to Old Yundum police station. It was said that the unknown caller told the imam to call him with his mobile phone when he reached the station so that he (the caller) could talk to the station officer (SO). This was said to be around the time when the imam was about to go to the mosque to perform his ‘Maghreb’ (twilight) prayers.
A family source explained that they accompanied Mr. Colley to the station and while they were there, their brother called the said caller from Bansang to talk to the police officer they met there. This police officer, he said, later asked him to hand over his personal belongings e.g. mobile phone, wrist watch, rosary beads, etc., and enter into the cell. He said the brother then complied with this police order.
He said when they returned to the station around 7am the next day on Friday, they were told by the police officers they met there that their brother was no longer in their custody. He said the brother was later traced to the NIA headquarters in Banjul, but they were denied access to him while he was held there before his current detention at Janjangbureh Prison.
The source disclosed that Imam Colley was held incommunicado at the NIA headquarters in Banjul for 48 days and that while they were making efforts to access him, they received information that the Imam had been transferred from the NIA Headquarters to Janjangbureh Prison in the Central River Region (CRR).
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 331 DAYS: Cherno Gassama, the Imam of Dasilami in Lower Fulladou West District, Central River Region (CRR), is still detained by the state at the Janjangbureh Prison in Central River Region (CRR) without access to his relatives since on Monday, 2 November, 2015.
A close source confirmed that he is still held without access to his family.
Imam Gassama was arrested and subsequently detained when an agent of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), including a uniformed police officer from Brikamaba police station, walked into his home to ask him to follow them to the said station on that fateful day, according to the source.
An eye witness revealed that upon his arrival at the said police station, he was briefly held behind bars before being finally transferred to Janjangbureh Prison.
However, the family members and mosque congregation are still concerned about his long detention and also calling on the authorities to free him to reunite with his family and continue leading prayers in their mosque.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR ONE YEAR, 30 DAYS: Seedy Jaiteh, a resident of Manjai-Kunda and former staff of the state telecommunication company, Gamtel/Gamcel, is still being held incommunicado at the maximum security wing in Mile Two prison without access to family or court appearance.
Mr. Jaiteh’s long detention has traumatised his entire family, including his young children, who have not seen their father for more than one year now.
According to a family source, the detention is not only affecting the family emotionally but has devastated them economically as he was the sole breadwinner.
“He’s married with two wives and has many kids whose educational and survival needs should be taken care of and schools will reopen on Monday (today) and things are very difficult for us. We are therefore appealing to state to release him,” he said.
Mr. Jaiteh was picked and whisked away in a numberless vehicle with tinted glasses and the family went searching for him at the different known detention centres such as the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Police Headquarters, NDEA Holgam centre at Kanifing South and other police stations but all these efforts went in vain. He was finally traced to the NIA in Banjul where the family was initially allowed to be taking food to him but this lasted for only few days before it was stopped.
According to the source, Mr. Jaiteh was first arrested and taken to the NIA headquarters in Banjul in November 2010 where he was held for few days before being released. He was later arraigned before the high court and convicted on 20 October 2012. After completing his prison term, he was released in February 2014.
The source revealed that on 27 August 2014, he was re-arrested by agents of the state at his home in Manjai Kunda and taken to the NIA where he was held for 8 days before being moved to Mile II prison on 3 September 2014.
However, the family source disclosed that they were hopeful that he was going to be released when president Jammeh announced on 22 July last year that some detainees were to be released but were disappointed when it was realized that he was not among those freed.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 157 DAYS: The President of the Rice Farmers’ Cooperative Ltd, Mr. Haruna Gassama, is also held at the Janjanbureh prison in the Central River Region (CRR) since on Saturday, 23 April 2016 without access to family members.
It was earlier reported that Mr. Gassama was arrested around 1pm at his home in Darsilami in CRR by some men in plainclothes who asked him to go with them to the Brikamaba police station where he was briefly held before being transferred to Janjanbureh prison.
A family source disclosed that they were not informed about the reason of his arrest and detention for the second time, adding that his own motor bike was also taken away by the state security agents.
Mr. Gassama was elected unopposed as president at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the rice farmers’ cooperative on 5 January 2012. He was later arrested on 2 March 2015, the very day when officials from the Sheriff Division of the high court came to Lower Fulladu District to execute the order of a judgment delivered on the 12 January 2015 which is in favour of the plaintiff (Mr. Gassama and his newly elected committee). The NIA detained him for 185 days before he was released on 3 September last year. He was re-arrested again late April this year.
INCOMMUNICADO FOR 165 DAYS: Dembo Darboe, alias Touray Darboe, who is said to have some psychiatric issues, and residing in Kafuta in the Kombo East, West Coast Region, is still under detention at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) since on 16th April, 2016.
According to family members, despite the opportunity that was once given to a sister to see him at the NIA, they are being denied access to visit him at his place of detention.
Foroyaa had earlier spoken to one of his brothers, Balla Darboe, who said: “The situation is still the same story and we are denied access to see him anytime we go there. I went there two weeks ago but I was not allowed to see him, even though they confirmed to me that he was still in their custody. In his entire period of detention, it was only once that one of my sisters met and talked to him.”
Touray Darboe’s arrest also came in the wake of the arrest of leadership of the United Democratic Party (UDP), including its party leader Lawyer Ousainou Darboe and other members, when they staged a peaceful demonstration to demand for Solo Sandeng, one of their members, to be produced either dead or alive.
A source revealed that it was on the same day (April 16) when two NIA operatives came to their family residence in Kafuta and picked him up, adding that since then he has not been released.
The family members are expressing their concern over the unlawful detention as their loved one was in his home village at the time of the 14 and 16 April incidents.
However, the aging mother and wife of the detained Mr. Darboe, who has a history of mental ill health, are appealing to the authorities to release their son and husband who is vulnerable to a relapse if he does not take his medication.
SARJO JALLOW
The newly appointed ‘Deputy Minister’ of Foreign Affairs, Mr Sarjo Jallow, had his appointment rescinded on 1 September 2016. He then disappeared from his residence at Kerr Serigne on 2 September 2016.
According to an official announcement, broadcast on the state owned GRTS, the 60 year old was appointed ‘Deputy Minister’ of Foreign Affairs with effect from 23 August 2016. But barely before being sworn in or assuming office, he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from his residence.
According to his wife, Jainaba Bah, he arrived in The Gambia on Monday 22 August 2016 and was residing in a property in Kerr Serigne. Upon his arrival, he found the house was burgled and some items were missing. The door was repaired and on Thursday 1 September 2016 he proceeded to Soma to attend a funeral. Upon his return, he found that the house was burgled for the second time and this time his lap top and some documents were among the missing items.
Jainaba Bah added that on Friday, 2 September 2016, her husband, Sarjo Jallow, decided to get the door of the house repaired. She said that she spoke to him on the phone at about 8.54 am and expressed her concerns about the latest development. This was the last time she heard from him. She noted that Mr Ousman Manjang, a colleague of Mr Jallow, was also trying to reach Sarjo Jallow by phone at about 10 am that day but to no avail. Mr Manjang has expressed grave concern through the media about the disappearance of his colleague.
Mr Jallow worked first as Secretary to the Scholarship Board, then as Minister of Information and Communication, then as Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture and as Gambian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the African Union.
Sarjo Jallow
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 4 MONTHS: Mr Sanusi Sanyang, from Kiang Keneba and a painter by profession and resident of Jeshwang was said to be abducted by men in civilian clothes since in April 2016.
According to sources, Mr Sanyang was arrested a few days after the April 14 and 16 incidents involving the UDP at his home in Jeshwang around midday.
A younger brother to Sanusi explained that his brother’s whereabouts is still unknown to them as they are still unable to trace him. He revealed that the family had visited both the police headquarters and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) office in Banjul but could not trace him and the only response they received from both places is that “Sanusi is not here”.
Mr Sanyang’s family is therefore appealing to the authorities to facilitate the release of their loved one who is a father and the sole bread winner of his family of four children, a wife, an aged mother and other dependents.
Sanusi Sanyang
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 7 MONTHS: Abdou Jammeh, commonly known as ‘Anabi’, a prison officer and native of Kanilai village in Foni Kansala District, has gone missing 7 months ago, since he set out for work at Mile Two prison for afternoon shift in January this year.
His whereabouts still remains unknown to his family.
Mrs. Sirreh Jarjue, the distraught looking wife, explained that when she realised that her husband did not close from work to come home as usual, she then called his cell phone but someone else received the call and when she asked about him, she was told that her husband was inside.
“I then waited until the following day in the morning when I again dialed the number and surprisingly the same person answered the call and when I told him that my husband is supposed to close work by now, the unknown receiver told me that ‘yes’ my husband is supposed to close by now but there was an emergency,” said Madame Jarjue.
Mr. Jammeh’s wife said she had made several visits to her husband’s work place at the prison but was always told by his colleagues that they do not know anything about him.
The desperate wife also disclosed that the absence of her husband, who is the breadwinner, has negatively affected the upkeep of the family and most especially the education of their children, as they are no longer going to school. She added that she is now entirely responsible for the upkeep of their young family.
She also disclosed that for over eight months now her numerous efforts to either see her husband or the director general of prisons has not yielded any fruitful result. “Since the disappearance of my husband in January this year, I’ve been making frantic efforts to either see him or the prison head to enquire about his whereabouts but that none of these efforts could materialize,” she said.
‘Anabi’ Jammeh’s wife is again appealing to the executive to help in tracing her missing husband and to facilitate his release to reunite with his family.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW: LIEUTENANT EBOU LOWE, a former officer of the Gambia Armed Forces went missing on 21 March 2006. His whereabouts is still not known.
One of his brothers, who has been coming to the Foroyaa office as part of efforts to search for him, said since Lt. Lowe went missing, they have not seen any sign yet from the government regarding efforts to investigate his whereabouts.
“We haven’t seen him or received any information regarding his whereabouts and have been visiting the prison without success,” said the brother.
He said following the announcement that the president was going to release detainees and convicted prisoners, the family was very optimistic that their loved one who has disappeared for more than a decade would be among those to be freed. He explained that they went to Mile Two prison on the 24 July 2015 in anticipation that he would be among those going to be released, but were disappointed that he was not among those released.
Reports revealed that Lt. Lowe was among the military officers who were arrested in the wake of the 21 March 2006 attempted coup to overthrow the APRC regime. It was later announced by the state owned television (GRTS) on 4th April 2006 that Lt. Ebou Lowe had escaped with four other security officers while being transferred to Janjangbureh prison in the hinterland. Since then none of his family members has seen or heard from him.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW: Chief Ebrima Manneh, a former State House senior reporter and Crime Watch columnist of the Daily Observer Newspaper, has gone missing 10 years ago without trace.
He was arrested by state security agents at his workplace in Bakau and taken to different detention centres in the country. His disappearance without trace occurred immediately after the African Union (AU) Summit hosted by The Gambia in Bakau on 7 July.
One of his brother said he had not set eyes on him since the day he set out for work at Bakau. He appealed to the general public who may have set eyes on him, or know his place of detention to contact his family members immediately.
The father of the missing son, who was in tears while explaining the situation of his missing son, said that he would not rest searching or stop requesting from the government about his whereabouts until he sees him. “We would use all means to mobilise religious leaders to accompany us to President Yahya Jammeh at his residence in Kanilai to enquire from him about my son (Ebrima Manneh).’’
Chief Manneh’s aging father has been making frantic efforts in search of his son since inception. He said he first visited all the known security detention centres around the country without any trace of his son and had also approached personalities such as the then NIA Director General, Mr Harry Sambou; the then IGP, Mr. Ousman Sonko; the then State House Imam, Abdoulie Fatty and the Vice President Madam Isatou Njie-Saidy to help in the efforts to trace Chief Manneh, but to no avail. The family is calling on the state to mount an investigation into the disappearance of their loved one, because they are very much traumatised about the disappearance.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) based in Accra, Ghana, filed a suit against the Gambia government at the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, Nigeria on 19 June 2007. The court held several proceedings but since the commencement of proceedings on 16 July 2007, the Government of The Gambia repeatedly failed to appear before the ECOWAS Court after being served with several summonses. While the plaintiffs presented two witnesses from The Gambia who testified against the Gambia, the state failed to secure the appearance of senior Police and Military officers who were subpoenaed to testify.
On 5 June 2008, the ECOWAS Court entered judgment in favour of the missing journalist and ordered the Gambian government to release and compensate him an amount of 100,000 Dollars but still now nothing has been done.
The position of the Gambia Government as expressed by its agents has been inconsistent to say the least. The Gambia government never made any public comment about the missing Journalist until February 2009 when the matter of Chief Manneh was raised in Parliament by the then Minority leader Momodou Sanneh. The then Justice Minister Mrs. Marie Saine Firdaus stated that Chief Manneh had never been in state custody.
However, her successor Mr. Edward Gomez, told Daily News, that Chief Manneh was still alive but failed to give any supportive evidence about his claims. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Yankuba Sonko at the time also told a local newspapers that the missing journalist is residing in the United States of America, but he also failed to give provide any evidence.
The Solicitor General, in 2008 told Amnesty International Researchers that the government believed Chief Manneh was abducted as it has been claimed, though nobody from the government had been involved.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS NOW: Two US citizens of Gambian descent ALHAGIE MAMUT CEESAY and EBOU JOBE, are still missing since they were abducted by known men on Saturday, 22 June 2013 in Brusubi while on holiday in The Gambia.
The disturbed family members of the two US citizens are dissatisfied with the lack of progress as they are yet to trace their whereabouts or to secure their immediate release.
The two were abducted from the same apartment at Brusubi on the same day. According to family sources, the duo came to The Gambia with the intention of investing in a cashew export business.
According to a release issued by the Ceesay family, Alhagie and Ebou came to The Gambia to invest and contribute to the Gambian economy. The two had a lease agreement for the office space which they rented while in The Gambia.
Mr. Ceesay is said to have completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington (Seattle) and later worked for Chevron Texaco for 11 years as an Infrastructure systems analyst. He recently obtained his MBA in 2013. He is married and has two children.
As for Mr. Jobe, he is said to have graduated from the University of Washington and worked at Wal-Mart as an Operations Manager. He is also married and has three children.
A family source has indicated that the police have been informed and are fully aware of the disappearance of the duo but are yet to come up with any findings regarding their whereabouts.
The US government has been pursuing the matter with the Gambia Government and did raise the matter at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
A former US Charge d’Affaire said at a press conference in 2014 that, “As far as I know, they were picked up and disappeared and we have asked the Gambia Government to investigate.”
He disclosed that they have even offered the services of the FBI to help in locating these two US citizens and added that they will leave no stone unturned in searching for their nationals.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW: MR. LAMIN KANYI (ALIAS KANYIBA) a native of Jarra who was residing in Bonto village in Kombo East of the West Coast Region (WCR) and a former staff of the Christian Children Fund, (now Child Fund The Gambia) KANYI, was abducted in the Gambia on 18th September 2006 by men in plain clothes believed to be security agents, including a police officer in uniform in the presence of his family.
According to a family source they don’t know whether Kanyiba is still alive or not. “Both his father and brother have passed away and he has not witnessed any of the burials or 40 Days charity because he was abducted by the agents and nobody knows if he has also passed away or not. His father died while he was in stress due to the abduction of his son,’’ he lamented.
He added that this is the greatest sadness they had ever encountered in life, adding that their family has been in turmoil since Kanyiba was whisked away.
According to eyewitnesses, Lamin Kanyiba was abducted around 9:00pm by three men who demanded to see him in camera; that Kanyiba then asked them to identify themselves and their mission which they refused to disclose. “The said men in plain clothes then called a taxi driver who was some metres away from the scene. Within a twinkle of an eye, the taxi driver arrived, Kanyiba was forcefully pushed into the taxi and then whisked away in full view of his family, leaving the wife and family in tears,” said a family member.
Another family source disclosed that shortly after Kanyiba was whisked away, his younger brother was also arrested and detained overnight at the Serious Crime Unit (SCU) at the Police headquarters in Banjul but was later released. The family source says that they have been traumatized and are seriously affected by the abduction and disappearance of their loved one since 2006.
Sources add that at the time of Kanyiba’s forced disappearance, his wife was pregnant and later delivered a baby girl who is now 10 years old and attending school.
It was further revealed that Kanyiba’s aging father died shortly after a visit to Kanilai to request for an audience with President Jammeh, audience he was unable to obtain.
His family members also filed a writ of “Habeas Corpus’ at the high court but he was not produced before the court neither was he released contrary to the court order.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 11 YEARS NOW A native of Kinteh-Kunda Marong Kunda in the Central Baddibu District of the North Bank Region (NBR), Mr. Lamin Tunkara, was arrested on 21st July, 2005, by a combined team, comprising the CID (police), NIA agents and plain clothes officers, behind Albert Market in Banjul. Since then he has not been seen or heard of, up to date.
The family members earlier reported that Mr Tunkara’s house in Tallinding was ransacked by the said security agents who confiscated foreign denominations – CFA, US Dollars and Euros and Dalasi as well.
He was detained at the Police headquarters in Banjul for few days and later at the Kairaba Police Station. His family said while in detention, he was accused of being an agent facilitating the journey of nationals through the “back way” to Spain.
Since he was last seen at Kairaba Police Station up till now family members have no clue of his whereabouts.
DISAPPEARED FOR 10 YEARS: Three close friends, ALHAGIE MOMODOU LAMIN NYASSI, ex-Chief of Foni Kansala District, NDONGO MBOOB and ALHAGIE BUBACARR SANYANG, District Coordinator of APRC in Foni Kansala, all natives of Bwiam in the West Coast Region, have gone missing and never returned home since they were arrested by men in plainclothes including a senior police officer in 2006.
According to a close family member of the ex-chief Momodou Lamin Nyassi, to their surprise their loved one was not among those released when amnesty was granted and a lot of prisoners were released last year.
‘‘We do not know whether all these 3 friends are still alive or not and nobody had ever came and told us that our loved ones are held. We approached some security chiefs and other government officials to talk to the President to free their father”, adding that some months ago, they have visited both General Saul Badjie and Asobi Bojang (the mother of President Jammeh) so that they can talk to President Jammeh, but that all their efforts went in vain.
According to sources, ex-chief Momodou Lamin Nyassi, Ndongo Mboob and Bubacarr Sanyang were first arrested in 2004 and briefly held at Janjangbureh Prison in CRR but were later released.
He added that the ex-chief was re-arrested in 2005 by men in plain clothes and later arraigned at the Brikama Magistrates’ Court where he was convicted and fined D20,000 which was immediately paid by his family members. He was then set free.
It was reported that ex-chief Nyassi and Mboob were re-arrested by men in plain clothes including a station officer (S/O) from Sibanor Police Station on Tuesday evening, 4 April, 2006, whilst conveying his friend, Ndongo Mboob. The said men approached them and told them that they are wanted at state house. He said the ex-chief told the men in plain clothes to allow him handover his cell phone to his family and immediately after handing it over they were whisked away. “We then visited Sibanor Police station as we were able to recognise the station officer who came for our father. We enquired from him (the SO) his response was that ‘our loved one was not under their custody’ so we had no option but to return home until the following day to continue our search,’’he disclosed.
‘‘On the next day, we visited all known security detention centres in The Gambia, including Mile II Central Prisons, Janjanbureh Prison, NIA detention centre in Banjul and the Police headquarters, but we couldn’t trace him and we do not know the condition in which he is held or whether he is still alive. In fact his grand sons and grand daughters are all grownups now,’’ he said.
Bubacarr Sanyang (alias Bubai), a District Coordinator of 22nd July Movement in Foni Kansala, was also first arrested in 2004 while attending a community ‘Gamo’ (a muslim religious gathering for prayer, preaching and recitation of the Qur’an). ‘‘We were at the ‘Gomo’ when some men in civilian clothes came and told him that he was needed at a meeting in Basse and he was picked up. We were wondering as we did not see him for 3 days but he was later released,’’ said a family source.
In 2006, his second arrest came on the same day as with the chief and Mboob by three NIA operatives who informed him that he was wanted by someone in higher authority at the state house. The family said Bubai had just finished performing the ‘Maghrib’ prayer when the men came for him. They said Bubai had handed over his mobile phones to one of his wives at that juncture, and then the men whisked him away, adding that up to date they don’t know his whereabouts, or have not seen or heard from him.
DISAPPEARED FOR NEARLY 11 YEARS NOW: A native of Dobong village, in the Foni Kansala District, JASARJA KUJABI, has disappeared since Wednesday, 27 July, 2005, after his house was ransacked by men claiming to be NIA agents who came in a numberless Nissan jeep with tinted glasses.
According to a family source when they heard the announcement over the TV that some convicted prisoners would be pardoned they also went to the said prison but that Jasarja was not part of those that were released and that they finally left the place with stress and agony. They added that they have visited well known detention centres but couldn’t trace him and that they had also approached the top security chiefs but all their efforts are in vain.
Family members earlier reported to this medium that they have not seen or heard from him since his disappearance in 2005 and that they are still wondering if their loved one is alive. ‘‘Since he was arrested by the agents, his absence is really disturbing us a lot because we’re facing a serious financial crisis and he was the only financial support of his young family,’’ a family source added.
According to the family, Mr Kujabi was picked up from his farm and then taken to his house for him to change his clothes. The source indicated that he told his family that he was going but that they should not be bothered and that he was soon whisked away. His situation is still unknown to his entire family after 11 years now.
DISAPPEARED FOR MORE THAN 11 YEARS NOW:
Haruna Jammeh of Kanilai was arrested together with Jisaraja in the same evening. He was put on board the same vehicle with Jisarja and whisked away by the state security agents. Since then these two are nowhere to be seen or heard of, up to date.
