By Nelson Manneh
Prosecution Witness Nogoi Njie (PW26) on Tuesday, 22nd January 2019, told the court that she was beaten and slapped before she was taken to the reception at the NIA headquarters.
Njie was arrested alongside Ebrima Solo Sandeng (who is pronounced death) as well as other UDP militants on the 14th April 2016. She was testifying before Justice Kumba-Sillah Camara of the Banjul High Court in the ongoing trial of intelligence officers of the National Intelligence Agency.
The accused persons in the case are Yankuba Badjie, the former DG NIA, Sheikh Omar Jeng, former Director of operations NIA, Baboucar Sallah, Haruna Suso, Tamba Masireh, Lamin Darboe and Lamin Lang Sanyang, all former NIA officers. Louis Gomez, the former deputy director of NIA was pronounced dead whilst under the custody of the State whereas Yusupha Jammeh was acquitted by the court following the application by the prosecution for him to be acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence against him.
The accused persons face 25 Counts ranging from murder, conspiracy to commit murder, torture and conspiracy to commit felony, among many others. The accused persons denied culpability of all the charges.
She said one of her fingers got broken and when she was taken to the Mile II prison, one of the police officers there help her to fix it.
Njie in her testimony said due to the slapping she endured, she suffered sight problem making it difficult for her to see. She added that she can now see properly because of the treatment she is undergoing.
At the NIA headquarters in Banjul, she said she was lying down on the ground looking at Solo Sandeng. She explained that at this time, Solo was naked whereas for her, the clothes she was wearing were torn and her breast were exposed. She elucidated that she used her head tie to cover her breast.
She adduced that whilst she was lying on the ground, she heard a boy standing near Solo and looking at him saying ‘Solo Sandeng is gone’.
She added that Haruna Suso then called Sheik Omar Jeng and told him the same thing. She added that then Sheik Omar Jeng then called the Doctor of the NIA by the name Lamin Sanyang who said the same thing, ‘that he is gone’.
She said she was then moved from where she was lying and taken to the reception at the NIA. She testified that she was thrown at the reception. She said she met one Fatoumatta Jawara and Fatou Camara at the reception. She added that Fatoumatta Jawara was lying down on the ground and Fatou Camara was sitting but both of them were keeping quiet.
Njie put forward that she then pulled the two and place them on top of her and placed her hand on top of them whiles she was sitting on the ground. She continued that Fatoumatta Jawara shouted and rolled herself for a distance but Fatou Camara was with her and saliva was coming from her (Fatou Camara’s) mouth.
Nogoi told the Court at this point, she then shouted and called on them to come and kill her too because she thought Fatoumatta Jawara and Fatou Camara were dead.
She said Lamin Sanyang came in with an injection in the reception and she told him that “you are not going to inject anybody here and none of them was injected”.
The matter is adjourned till today at 10 am for continuation of hearing.
