By Mustapha Jallow
A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent has revealed how financial records from Western Union helped track down Michael Sang Correa, a former member of Gambia’s feared paramilitary unit known as the Junglers, now on trial in the United States for alleged acts of torture linked to the 2006 failed coup attempt against former President Yahya Jammeh. Mathew Gifford, a special agent and national program manager with HSI, testified on Wednesday during the third day of Correa’s trial in Denver, Colorado. Gifford said his team initially tried to locate Correa through MoneyGram without success before turning to Western Union, where they discovered the accused had been sending money to his family in Gambia using diplomatic passport information. Gifford, who was based in Dakar, Senegal for five years, had traveled to Banjul to collect testimonies from victims. “We knew Correa was in the U.S., but we couldn’t pinpoint which state he was in,” he told the court. The breakthrough came when they tracked his remittance activity. Correa, 45, faces six counts of torture, although the fifth count was dropped at the start of the trial on April 7, 2025. He is accused of participating in the abuse of detainees suspected of involvement in the 2006 coup attempt.
Yaya Darboe, a lieutenant colonel with the Gambia Armed Forces, testified that Correa was once seen as a disciplined and respectful soldier. However, after his arrest in 2006, Darboe experienced a different side of Correa. He told the court how Junglers took him to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), where he was tortured despite insisting he had no involvement in the coup. “They are terrible people, with Sang Correa being the most violent. I couldn’t believe it was the same Correa I once respected,” Darboe said. He recalled that only two Junglers—Bora Colley and Malick Jatta—did not take part in his torture. Darboe confirmed that Captain Pierre Mendy, one of the accused coup plotters, was severely beaten by the Junglers until he lost consciousness. “Water was poured on him—that was the time he woke up,” Darboe added.
Sainey Bayo, another senior military officer, testified that he was detained for weeks in 2006 over suspicion of being part of the coup. He said he traveled to the U.S. to seek justice. Under cross-examination, Bayo described Jammeh as a ruler, not a dictator, but admitted that refusing orders during Jammeh’s regime could lead to arrest or torture. “If you refuse orders, Junglers will come for you,” he said. Bayo also recalled training one-time Jungler Tumbul Tamba but said Tamba eventually went down a different path.
The court also heard from Demba Dem, a former National Assembly member for Niani district, who detailed abuses he suffered after falling out with Jammeh’s regime. A former APRC member, Dem said he was arrested after opposing a draconian media bill and resigning from his committee. He was detained twice and eventually imprisoned at Mile 2. Upon returning from parliamentary duties in the provinces in March 2006, Dem was arrested again, taken to Mile 2, and later handed over to the Junglers, including Correa. “These Junglers started abusing me in the car on the way to the NIA,” Dem said. “When I got to the NIA, I faced a panel of 30 interrogators. If they didn’t like my answers, they sent me downstairs to be beaten, then brought me back to continue.”
Dem recounted how Jungler Alagie Martin slapped him and how Correa placed a plastic bag over his head, poured cold water on him, and dropped melted plastic onto his skin. He also said Baba Sawo ordered his electrocution while his legs were hung on chains. According to Dem, they were forced to sign false statements, and when he refused, Ismaila Jammeh stabbed him with a knife. He also witnessed Malick Jatta hitting Captain Mendy with a pistol, leaving him badly wounded. Dem was eventually charged with treason and conspiracy to commit treason, but after spending over a year in detention, he was acquitted by the high court.
Correa’s trial continues, with more witnesses expected to testify in the coming days as prosecutors aim to prove his direct involvement in the torture of detainees during the Jammeh era.
