By Kebba Jeffang
Meta Njie, the mother of the late Lt. Col. Lamin Sanneh, the alleged
leader of the 30 December 2014 attack on state house in Banjul, has been in incommunicado detention for 82 days today (23 March) without being released or taken before a court of law.
This continuous detention of Madame Njie without due process andaccess to family contravenes the 72 hours lawful detention requirement
of the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia as well as the other
national and international instruments and law on arbitrary arrest and
detention to which the country subscribes to such as the Women’s Act
2010, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Convention on
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), etc.
“We are desperate to re-unite with our loved one but do not know how
to secure her release. Since there is nothing we can do, we have left
everything in the hands of Allah (God) and pray that she is freed
sooner,” exclaimed a distraught looking relative.
The late Lt. Col. Sanneh’s mother was arrested on New Year’s day
(2015) at her home in Fajikunda Dumos by people said to be operatives
of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and has not been seen by her
relatives since then as her whereabouts are not yet known.
Lt. Col. Sanneh, who was the commanding officer of the presidential
guards, was reported killed during the attack on state house.
The relative also said that the family is not officially informed of
the death of Lt. Col. Sanneh and no charity has been given in his home
village of Kalaji in the Foni Jarrol District West Coast Region.]]>
