Details of Gambian Killings Revealed

... "Gambian Gov't can't deny complicity"

Details of the gruesome killings of 52 West Africans including 44 Ghanaians in the bushes of Banjul, the nation's capital, have emerged despite the persistence of the Gambian Authorities to cover it up.

Investigations into the killings have on several occasions hit the wall due to the intransigence of the Gambian security agencies.

But pressure from Civil Society groups and the media, the government of Ghana sent some top officials and investigators to unravel the mystery killings. It is not clear about the outcome of the investigations as the Ghana Government has been mute about its findings since the delegation returned and submitted its report.

While the silence persists, a Gambian Journalist who himself has tasted the wrath of the Yahaya Jemeh Government in his homeland -The Gambia- has firmly declared that "the Gambian Government cannot deny complicity in the killings of the 52 West Africans among who Ghanaians formed the majority".

Musa Saidykhan said in an interview with Sunday World in Nairobi, that the incident happened on the night of the 11th anniversary of the Gambian Revolution.

According to him after a false report received from intelligence sources, an agent was sent to Senegal to spy on the former Vice Chairman of the ruling Junta (Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council).

Capt. Sana Sabally was jailed for nine years by a Court Marshall that found him guilty of attempting to overthrow the junta and was released in January 2004 after serving the sentence. He left the country for security reasons after his release to live in Senegal.

Musa said that the while Captain Sabally was in the Senegal, the Gambian government was very uncomfortable and therefore decided to deploy agents to monitor his activities.

One of the agents got to talk with him (Capt. Sabally) who though knowing he was an agent went ahead to disclose his intention to overthrow the Gambian government.

On his return to Banjul, the agent wrote a report and advised the government to be on the alert because Gambian dissidents and mercenaries could attack the country.

According to Musa, about two months after the trip by the agent 52 West Africans including 44 Ghanaians (the rest were from Togo and Ivory Coast) boarded a ship to Banjul. They sailed around Barra Ferry Crossing Terminal at night.

A Policeman on duty asked them their mission and when he realised none of them could speak any Gambian language he became highly suspicious and escorted them to the Barra Police Station where they were held for a few hours.

When the government was alerted it sent an emergency ferry to take them to Banjul. Some security heads received them ostensibly to investigate their case.

According to him, the security heads were not allowed to interrogate them but a special security unit under the Office of the President saying they had been asked to deal with them and they will do just that.

"They were taken to two locations (bushes) on the outskirts of Banjul where they were killed in horrendous style but one of them a Ghanaian escaped", Musa disclosed.

He said a few days after the killings; villagers from Brufut discovered about 11 bodies along the coast.

According to him the Police visited the crime scene and took the bodies to the main referral hospital in Banjul and appealed to the public to cooperate with them in their investigations.

"The bodies were later buried without people knowing the results of the investigations. The rest of the bodies were buried in mass graves.

According to Musa information gathered said that while they were being taken to be killed one of them appealed to their killers not to kill them because they had not committed any crime but one of the soldiers held his hand and chopped it off.

"Anytime the matter is raised, the Gambian Government feels very uncomfortable and perhaps deducing complicity in the matter", Musa concluded.