Hon.Ebrima Sillah Clarifies Whatson Gambia’s False Report

Dear What’s On Gambia, Your story claiming to be from an insider of the Gambia Ferry Services that the planned trip to the Netherlands for the procurement of two new ferries from Damen Shipping Company was halted because of my unavailability to travel is totally false. For your information, I have not travelled outside of The Gambia since January this year. I have always been in the country. The truth of the matter is that the General Manager and two seasoned engineers of the Ferry Services, the MD of the GPA and I were to travel to the Netherlands in mid April to negotiate the process of buying an additional new green solar powered ferry but the trip has been rescheduled to the end of April to attend to the urgent repair works of Kunta Kinteh Ferry and to finalize the Port Concession negotiations. The contract signing of another brand new solar powered ferry which is a grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB) is expected to take place in Banjul this coming week after receiving their “no objection to the procurement process.” It has to be noted that because government is procuring two brand new ferries to be built from scratch means that even if the contract is signed today, the ferries will be built through a phased period of 16 months. Your source reported as if traveling to the Netherlands to sign the contract will get the ferries delivered the same day. No!!! That is totally misleading. The truth is that this Government has learnt critical lessons from the previous government’s buying of ferries. Thus this government is buying brand new purposely built ferries that are agile and specific to our conditions. These new ferries will use clean solar energy instead of heavy fuel that will definitely cut cost. Finally for your information, no Minister of Transport has been more resolute about the situation of the ferries than me. Two months after being appointed, I instructed the purchase of new engines for the entire fleet to assure safety and reliability of service. The reason Kunta Kinteh is docked for maintenance today is thanks to that effort as those new engines have now arrived in the country and are being fixed on Kunta. Similarly, the Management of GPA and Ferry Services have scheduled a complete overhaul of the Kanilai Ferry once maintenance works on Kunta Kinteh are completed shortly. Once again I remind What’s On Gambia that our doors are opened for any clarifications. Ebrima Sillah Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure ~~~~~~ Thank you, Honorable for the clarification. For The Gambia, our homeland.

Amie Aided Ousainou Bojang Escape After Killing 2 Cops

Amie Bojang Facilitated Ousainou's Escape Via C Class Benz to Jiboro. Amie Bojang Facilitated Ousainou's Escape Via C Class Benz to Jiboro. In the murder case of Ousainou Bojang and his sister, Detective Ebou Sowe, the sixth witness (PW6), continued his testimony in the main trial after the voir-dire trial which suspended the main trial.

The Director of Public Prosecution A.M Yusuf lead the witness, Detective Sowe, in his evidence-in-chief. A.M. Yusuf asked Detective Sowe to recount the statements obtained from Ousainou Bojang on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of September. Detective Sowe informed the court that Ousainou Bojang confessed his escape route out of Gambia, in which his sister Amie Bojang the second accused facilitated his exit by providing a C Class Benz vehicle that took him from their residence in Brufut to Jiboro via the Transgambia road.

Sowe further revealed that before heading to Senegal, Ousainou said he gave a bag containing his Senegalese Passport and non-Gambian ID Card to his sister, also admitted her providing the vehicle and a motorcycle (locally known as Jakarta) for his (Ousainou) escape. Detective Sowe upon getting the information Amie Bojang (second accused) was subsequently arrested based on Ousainou's statement. Still testifying Detective Sowe said after interrogation with Amie Bojang (second accused) led investigators to the recovery of the bag left by Ousainou. On the following day, the second accused led investigators to taxi driver Abdoulie Drammeh, who confirmed transporting Ousainou to the Gambian border in Jiboro. The Jakarta driver, Buba Manneh, also confirmed driving Ousainou to Senegal. Furthermore, Detective Sowe said the investigation continues and empty bullet cases were found at the crime scene and sent for ballistic examination. Detective Sowe added that later, a disassembled pistol was found in an empty land, linked to a witness, Lamin Fofana, who said he saw people chasing someone wearing a kaftan, he wrestled the man down, and the man hit him with an object. Then the man continued running. He tried to chase the man, and the man threw an object at him and the object landed on the fence. After a short pursuit, he came to check the said object only for him to realize that it was a pistol. He then picked up the pieces walked into the empty land and threw it to the empty land where the investigators found the pistol. Detective Sowe said the pistol was picked by the forensic team, a Witness statement was obtained from the man (Lamin Fofana) and a ballistic request was also sent to the defence headquarters for ballistic examinations. Detective Sowe informed the court that during the investigation, the said report was received, the document was reviewed and precisely in paragraph 9 of the said document, it confirms that the empty bullet cases, that were recovered at the crime scene were fired by the pistol recovered. Defence counsel objected to quoting the ballistic report, the presiding Judge allowed Detective Sowe to continue his testimony. A.M. Yusuf, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) questioned Detective Sowe to state where the bag recovered from the 2nd accused during the investigation was, in response Detective Sowe said the bag is with the AG Chambers. When asked if he could identify the bag and its contents, Detective Sowe affirmed that he could do so based on the colour of the bag and the documents bearing the name of the 1st accused. Detective Sowe also informed the court of the existence of post-mortem reports for the deceased police officers, Pateh M. Jallow and Sang J. Gomez, which were also sent to the AG Chambers. He expressed his ability to identify the reports, saying each report contained the name of the deceased and was copied to the Inspector General of Police. Furthermore, Sowe said items recovered from the 1st accused's residence, are shoes, a kaftan, and a bucket, which were sent to the AG Chambers as well. When asked if he could identify the items Detective Sowe stated that he could identify these items based on their colors and packaging. The Director of Public Prosecutions sought to tender the post-mortem reports into evidence. However, objections were raised by defence counsels, arguing that Detective Sowe was not the appropriate person to present the reports as he lacked expertise and wasn't involved in the examinations conducted. Despite the objections, the DPP argued that the admissibility of the documents did not necessitate that only the authors could tender them. He cited sections 45 of the Evidence Act and 136 of the CPC to support his position that such documents could be tendered through a police officer like Detective Sowe. Justice Jaiteh intervened and expressed concerns regarding the fairness of cross-examining Detective Sowe on the documents since he was not the author of the reports. Justice Jaiteh acknowledging the importance of the documents, Justice Jaiteh decided to return them to the prosecution rather than outright rejecting them to uphold principles of justice and fairness and allow the medical doctor to tender the document. The case was adjourned until March 25, 2024. @followers @highlight Follow In the murder case of Ousainou Bojang and his sister, Detective Ebou Sowe, the sixth witness (PW6), continued his testimony in the main trial after the voir-dire trial which suspended the main trial. The Director of Public Prosecution A.M Yusuf lead the witness, Detective Sowe, in his evidence-in-chief. A.M. Yusuf asked Detective Sowe to recount the statements obtained from Ousainou Bojang on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of September. Detective Sowe informed the court that Ousainou Bojang confessed his escape route out of Gambia, in which his sister Amie Bojang the second accused facilitated his exit by providing a C Class Benz vehicle that took him from their residence in Brufut to Jiboro via the Transgambia road. Sowe further revealed that before heading to Senegal, Ousainou said he gave a bag containing his Senegalese Passport and non-Gambian ID Card to his sister, also admitted her providing the vehicle and a motorcycle (locally known as Jakarta) for his (Ousainou) escape. Detective Sowe upon getting the information Amie Bojang (second accused) was subsequently arrested based on Ousainou's statement. Still testifying Detective Sowe said after interrogation with Amie Bojang (second accused) led investigators to the recovery of the bag left by Ousainou. On the following day, the second accused led investigators to taxi driver Abdoulie Drammeh, who confirmed transporting Ousainou to the Gambian border in Jiboro. The Jakarta driver, Buba Manneh, also confirmed driving Ousainou to Senegal. Furthermore, Detective Sowe said the investigation continues and empty bullet cases were found at the crime scene and sent for ballistic examination. Detective Sowe added that later, a disassembled pistol was found in an empty land, linked to a witness, Lamin Fofana, who said he saw people chasing someone wearing a kaftan, he wrestled the man down, and the man hit him with an object. Then the man continued running. He tried to chase the man, and the man threw an object at him and the object landed on the fence. After a short pursuit, he came to check the said object only for him to realize that it was a pistol. He then picked up the pieces walked into the empty land and threw it to the empty land where the investigators found the pistol. Detective Sowe said the pistol was picked by the forensic team, a Witness statement was obtained from the man (Lamin Fofana) and a ballistic request was also sent to the defence headquarters for ballistic examinations. Detective Sowe informed the court that during the investigation, the said report was received, the document was reviewed and precisely in paragraph 9 of the said document, it confirms that the empty bullet cases, that were recovered at the crime scene were fired by the pistol recovered. Defence counsel objected to quoting the ballistic report, the presiding Judge allowed Detective Sowe to continue his testimony. A.M. Yusuf, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) questioned Detective Sowe to state where the bag recovered from the 2nd accused during the investigation was, in response Detective Sowe said the bag is with the AG Chambers. When asked if he could identify the bag and its contents, Detective Sowe affirmed that he could do so based on the colour of the bag and the documents bearing the name of the 1st accused. Detective Sowe also informed the court of the existence of post-mortem reports for the deceased police officers, Pateh M. Jallow and Sang J. Gomez, which were also sent to the AG Chambers. He expressed his ability to identify the reports, saying each report contained the name of the deceased and was copied to the Inspector General of Police. Furthermore, Sowe said items recovered from the 1st accused's residence, are shoes, a kaftan, and a bucket, which were sent to the AG Chambers as well. When asked if he could identify the items Detective Sowe stated that he could identify these items based on their colors and packaging. The Director of Public Prosecutions sought to tender the post-mortem reports into evidence. However, objections were raised by defence counsels, arguing that Detective Sowe was not the appropriate person to present the reports as he lacked expertise and wasn't involved in the examinations conducted. Despite the objections, the DPP argued that the admissibility of the documents did not necessitate that only the authors could tender them. He cited sections 45 of the Evidence Act and 136 of the CPC to support his position that such documents could be tendered through a police officer like Detective Sowe. Justice Jaiteh intervened and expressed concerns regarding the fairness of cross-examining Detective Sowe on the documents since he was not the author of the reports. Justice Jaiteh acknowledging the importance of the documents, Justice Jaiteh decided to return them to the prosecution rather than outright rejecting them to uphold principles of justice and fairness and allow the medical doctor to tender the document. The case was adjourned until March 25, 2024 source kexx sanneh

Gambia Police Arrested Man With Assault Rifles

Sanchaba Sulay Jobe police on Thursday arrested a 53-year-old man who had illegally possessed three rifles.

The arrest of Ebrima Njai followed a tip-off the police received from a junior soldier of the Gambia National Army. Acting with patriotic and loyalist spirit, the patriotic officer [Name withheld] walked to the police station to lodge complaint on Mr. Njai's illegal possession of AK 47 rifle and two D2 rifles.

The police shifly acted on the soldier's lead by deploying a team of officers to the residence of Ebrima Njai. The three guns were confiscated in Mr. Njai's residence leading to his arrest and subsequent dettention.

Mr. Njai was escorted to the Sanchaba Sulay Jobe police station and has since been helping investigators with investigations of how, when and why he is in possession of the illegal rifles. The rifles are believed to have been smuggled from the Gambia National Army armory. When contacted the police Public Relatios Officer (PRO) Binta Njie confirmed the arrest of Ebrima Njai with three riffles. PRO Njie said the police are currently investiating the matter. She call on the general public to stay calm and not be panic. `´´The public should report suspected activities and desist from harbouring criminals or concealing criminal activities in their communities said the police public Relations officer Njie`` Jarranews sources said the weapons could form part of the weapons that went missing during the political impasse in 2016 to January 2017. During the period, loyalists of the former Gambia President Yahya Jammeh loyalist soldiers were reported to have distributed weapons to unknown persons

GAMTEL FIBRE CABLES CUTS IN THE PROVINCES

Gambia Telecommunication Company GAMTEL is yet faced with series of fibre cable cuts in the provinces. According to Ms Theresi Gomez the deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) her company is face regular cable cuts in the recent past resulting in interruption service to their esteem customers.

Speaking to Jarranews on the line from Banjul DPRO Gomez said " we have fibre cut between Iliassa - Farafennie in the North Bank Region and another one Uper River Religion between Fatoto - Bajakunda repestively. These two sites were both cut by Nawec in the process erecting electricity poles"

Gomez commended the Managing Director of GAMTEL Mr Lamin A Tunkara and the entire management for their timely intervention in restoring services to their customers anytime they face with such challenges. Theresi Gomez reasured the customers of restoration of services since the Basse and Farafennie regional team are working restlessly to restore the cable as soon as possible.

Honorable Ebrima Fabou Sanneh Talks Maturedly

Yankuba Dampha, I became aware of your comments targeting me, where you went so far as to label me as mentally challenged. I know you are emotionally turbulent, but it is disheartening to witness such behaviour, and I feel compelled to address this issue with you. Engaging in cyberbullying not only reflects poorly on your character but also contributes to a toxic online environment and the low life you are living. It is important to remember that our words have the power to shape perceptions and impact the lives of others. I Fabou Sanneh is not a walk over nor will engage in exchanging profanities with you on social media It is evident that your actions stem from a place of negativity and hostility, and I encourage you to reflect on the consequences of your words. Resorting to personal attacks and baseless accusations reveals your lack of empathy, understanding, and respect. Disparaging someone's mental health is a particularly low blow and goes against the principles of decency and compassion. You are too young to behave like this, I seriously think you need help. Young man, you can not take on the whole world. Calm down and have a life.

I urge you to consider redirecting your energy towards positive and constructive pursuits. Instead of using social media as a platform for bullying and caricaturing decent people, why not use it as a tool for self-improvement and family development? Go and live on your sweat and stop living off YouTube subscriptions. It is evident that you have no life apart from the world of social media, particularly through YouTube channel subscriptions. No wonder you have lived on my sweat through my audio and videos for years now. This is okay with me since it helps you feed your family. I simply take it as my positive contribution to your your family upkeep. But yes, I'll need respect in reciprocation. Please do also remember that the digital world is not a license to perpetuate harm, and be rest assured that your days of engaging in social media bullying may be numbered.

Ousman Sonko Refused To Talk About Almamo Manneh’s Death

Source TRIAL International: Reported by Kexx News The trial of Gambia’s former Interior Minister under former President Yaya A.J.J Jammeh continues to progress in the Swiss city of Bellinzona. Ousman Sonko is standing trial for crimes against humanity such as torture, kidnapping, sexual violence and unlawful killings, among other charges. Sonko is also accused of having participated in the murder of Almamo Manneh, a former member of the presidential State Guards of former president Jammeh in January 2000, as well as sexually assaulting his widow between the years 2000 to 2002, as well as having tortured, raped and sequestrated her in 2005. When the case was called in the Swiss Court of Bellinzona, the accused person Ousman Sonko, was asked to explain the details surrounding the death of Almamo Manneh. However, he declined to comment or speak about the issue saying he was bound by professional secrecy, to talk about Almamo Manneh’s death, and also denied all the rape charges brought against him claiming that he was not in the country at the time of the alleged events. The Court then proceeded with the hearing of Almamo Manneh’s widow. Her lawyer requested that Ousman Sonko be placed in a separate room so that the plaintiff would not be able to directly confront him during her interrogation on the sensitive discussions.

Upon the Court’s questioning, the witness (name withheld), confirmed all the declarations she made before the federal Prosecutor in 2019, during the investigation phase. She stated that she did not know about the alleged coup her husband had been suspected of fomenting against the former President, and said during the night of the killing, her late husband received a phone call and then left their house, and said she never saw him again. The witness explained how the accused (Ousman Sonko) had severely abused her repeatedly from January 2000 to April 2002 as well as in 2005. She also recalled that from the mid-1990s, it was hell for any Gambian who was opposing the Government of former president Jammeh. She testified that after her testimony before the TRRC, she was contacted by women who had also been sexually assaulted, adding that a lot of Gambian women were scared to report their assaults and when they did so, they were not believed. However, the defence lawyer of the witness declined to make use of the right to ask additional questions regarding the rape and torture allegations she made during the investigation period. When the accused person Ousman Sonko was brought back to the courtroom, he explained that he was not aware of the reasons why Almamo Manneh would have planned a coup, nor was he aware of President Jammeh’s reaction to Manneh’s death. Sonko repeated his earlier position that he was bound by professional secrecy and would not comment further on the issue of Almamo Manneh. When confronted with the fact that the TRRC found him responsible for the murder of Almamo Manneh, he replied that he had not seen his name in TRRC’s compendium volumes A or B. Sonko was then confronted with a series of Gambian newspaper articles published after Almamo Manneh’s killing, referring notably to an “official release on a coup attempt” from the Ministry of the Interior. In reply, Sonko said he did not know about the substance of the so-called release. According to him, the articles about the coup demonstrated that the Gambian press was free. He further testified that he was in Sierra Leone for a UN engagement between 6 January 2001 and 21/22 January 2002, and only came back once to The Gambia for a break. The Court then informed the parties that mutual legal assistance had been requested from the UN to confirm the breaks taken by the accused and was waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, on the alleged attempted coup d’état in March 2006, Ousman Sonko, who is being accused of having tortured various people including members of the army, politicians and journalists, as an accomplice and member of a group of perpetrators, and of having illegally deprived them of their freedom as well as of having committed rape in Banjul (The Gambia), again denied all the charges brought against him. The first witness called in the witness box regarding the above charges against Mr Sonko said he is a Gambian citizen who started his career within the Gambian police force before being integrated into the national army. The witness narrated that in March 2006, his military superior Col. Ndure Cham was accused by the Gambian government of having fomented a coup d’état, and said he was arrested within the frame of the investigation related to this event. The witness provided his statement in court and recalled having been arrested on 21 March 2006. He testified that during his first night of incarceration, he was brought from the Mile 2 prison to the premises of the former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) where he found members of the Army called ‘Junglers’, the NIA as well as the witness himself, Ousman Sonko, along with the former DeputyChief of Defence Staff and head of the police major crime unit, as members of an investigation panel they set up for him. He further explained that on the night of his arrest, he was violently interrogated about his suspected participation in the coup, and was later taken several other times to the NIA and subjected to acts of torture with death threats. He testified that on several occasions, he was forced to sign statements against his will which resulted in beatings, and said he still suffers from serious physical and mental effects of the acts of torture he was subjected to. He recalled that the panel members including OusmanSonko, knew very well that people were being tortured during investigations in this case, and said he was taken before a judge, months after his arrest and was convicted along with others, to very long prison sentences. The witness adduced that he spent nine years in prison in extremely difficult conditions. The witness further testified that during this time, the country was under extreme dictatorship, and people were arrested and imprisoned without being brought before any court of law, while others disappeared without trace. The witness concluded his statement by saying that this made people live in constant fear. The third witness to appear in court regarding the 2006 events was a former Gambian politician and member of the National Assembly. The witness, who currently lives in exile, said in March 2006, he was arrested within the frame of the investigation related to a suspected coup d’état against the former government of Jammeh. At this juncture, Ousman Sonko again denied all the charges brought against him by the third witness. The witness proceeded to confirm the statements he made during the investigation and according to his own words, he was kidnapped in March 2006 from the Parliament and taken to the NIA premises on several occasions. He testified that he was questioned on his suspected role in the alleged coup attempt and answered that he did not know anything about it. He said a written statement was prepared for him to sign and was stabbed when he refused to sign as instructed. He further testified that he was subjected on other occasions, to acts of torture as a result of which he suffered from wounds on different parts of his body. He explained that he had been subjected to heinous crimes and humiliation which he never thought a man could do on a fellow human being, and said eventually, he was acquitted. He said despite his acquittal, he suffered physical and psychological consequences from the acts of torture he had endured and this has ever since affected him in his daily life. He said the political situation in 2006 was disastrous. To be continued on the March 2006 alleged coup plotters' torture and other related events.