By Mustapha Jallow
2nd Lieutenant Pharing Sanyang of the Gambia Armed Forces has testified in a U.S. federal court that he rejected a direct order from former President Yahya Jammeh to assassinate veteran journalist Deyda Hydara, who was later killed by members of the Junglers, Jammeh’s paramilitary death squad.
Sanyang, testifying in the ongoing trial of Michael Sang Correa—one of Jammeh’s former enforcers—said he was tortured by the Junglers at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for allegedly taking part in the failed 2006 coup against Jammeh. Correa, on trial in Denver, Colorado, is accused of participating in acts of torture under Jammeh’s regime.
Sanyang named several other soldiers—Captains Bunja Darboe, Yaya Darboe, Wassa Camara, Major Pierre Mendy, Abdou Karim Jah, Lt. Momodou Alieu Bah, Corporal Samba Bah, Lance Corporal Babou Janha, and Private Alhagie Nying—who were also severely tortured.
He told the jury that he not only refused the order to kill Hydara in 2004, but also turned down an offer to join the Junglers, saying, “I did not feel it was a legal cause.” The Junglers operated between 1994 and 2016, carrying out executions, torture, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances against regime critics.
Correa’s defence argued that even Junglers lived in fear of Jammeh and could face execution for disobedience. Sanyang, the fourth witness to testify on Thursday, detailed his experiences under cross-examination by U.S. prosecutor Christina Giffin.
The court was shown photos of scars on Sanyang’s body—cigarette burns and bayonet wounds—sustained during beatings in 2006. “They told me I must confess, or they would deal with me,” he said.
Although he denied any role in the coup, Sanyang said he was forced to confess under torture to save his life. He recounted how Jammeh personally ordered him to assassinate Hydara.
“When did that happen?” asked Giffin.
“In 2004.”
“What did he ask you to do?”
“He ordered me to assassinate Deyda Hydara.”
“And what did you do?”
“I rejected the assignment.”
Sanyang said he told Jammeh that if Hydara had done anything wrong, he should be investigated and tried in court. But Jammeh repeated the order, and Sanyang again refused. For this, he said, Jammeh added him to a kill list.
He was also approached by Kalifa Bajinka, then State Guard Commander, to join the Junglers, and was offered a Mitsubishi pickup truck as incentive. “I rejected it,” he said.
Describing the torture he endured, Sanyang said Malick Jatta, a Jungler, burned his shoulder with a cigarette, stabbed his hand with a bayonet, and hit him with a pistol. Ismaila Jammeh briefly intervened, but the beating continued. “At the NIA, I bled so badly that blood ran into my eyes and soaked my uniform,” he said.
Sanyang said he was later taken to a graveyard where he was brutally assaulted. He also claimed that General Saul Badjie attempted to eliminate him in a staged car crash. He sustained injuries, while Badjie escaped unhurt.
He admitted to having trained some Junglers in weapons use and tactics during his time as head of the State House Commando Company and as a physical training instructor. He confirmed training Correa and identified three elite units at State House: the Commandos, the Junglers, and the Rangers—who guarded Jammeh’s farms.
He also recalled the 1997 arrest of UDP opposition members and the shutdown of Citizen FM radio. However, he denied knowledge of any alleged Jammeh order to assassinate politician Lamin Waa Juwara, prompting the prosecution to object to the line of questioning as speculative.
Another witness, Tamsir Jasseh, a former U.S. Navy serviceman and Gambia’s ex-immigration chief, testified that he was arrested for helping Colonel Ndure Cham flee to Senegal after the 2006 coup attempt. At the NIA, he said he was tortured and forced to confess on camera. He described being suffocated with a plastic bag by Correa and only surviving after biting a hole to breathe.
“While some Junglers backed down, Correa continued to beat me,” Jasseh said. He also testified that Correa mocked his U.S. citizenship and claimed Jammeh demanded to hear his screams over the phone.
The trial continues.
