By Mustapha Jallow
Two Gambian soldiers are still under detention for 2 years now without any court trial, as GAF await directives for action to be taken against them.
The detained soldiers are Warrant Officer Class 1 (WOC1), Ismaila Jammeh and Alieu Jeng, also Warrant Officer Class 1 (WOC1).
Lieutenant Malick Sanyang, the Deputy spokesperson of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), has on Wednesday, told this paper that GAF is yet to receive anything officially indicating whether to release them based on recommendations similar to that of the four who were released earlier.
“We still continue to await further directives as GAF, just like it was done in the case of the ones that have been released already,” he added.
He said, “We are aware of the constitutional provision but the issue now is beyond us. Hence they all appeared before the TRRC and a directive was given for GAF to release them, those who were already released.’’
According to the GAF PRO, it is in the same spirit they continue to wait for further instructions to come regarding exactly what they should do.
However, he said access to these detainees is granted. “They are not denied any visit. The only thing that has been done is to keep them within the Barracks and not allow them to go home.’’
“If today we receive the same instruction for conditional release as before we are going to release them just like before,’’ he concluded.
It could be recalled that WOC1 Jammeh, was arrested and detained at Yundum Barracks on Friday, 17 March, 2017.
He was picked-up by the military police and taken to the Guards Battalion in Fajara, where he spent days before he was finally transferred to another detention centre.
WOC1 Jeng, who was residing at Hamza Barracks, was also arrested in 2017, immediately after the departure of the former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh.
The ex-bodyguard of former vice President Madam Isatou Njie-Saidy, was part of the soldiers who were selected for peacekeeping mission to Darfur in 2017. But the soldier’s name was later taken off the list and he got arrested on the orders of ex-CDS Ousman Badgie.
