EX-DIG JASSEH NARRATES TORTURE AT THE HANDS OF ‘JUNGLER’ SANA MANJANG

The trial of Sana Manjang, a former military officer and an alleged member of ex-president Jammeh’s notorious patrol team, the Junglers, continued yesterday at the Banjul High Court with the accused pleading not guilty, and the first prosecution witness starting his testimony.

Manjang is accused of killing Kajali Jammeh and Samba Wury Bah, as well as causing bodily harm to former deputy Inspector General of Police Tamsir Jasseh, and soldier, Yahya SM Darboe.

Following the accused’s not guilty plea, the prosecution called its first witness, Tamsir Jasseh, a resident of Brufut and current adviser to the Inspector General of Police to testify.

Jasseh, a veteran of the US military was also director of The Gambia Immigration Department.

He told the court that his ordeal started in the wake of the March 2006 coup plot. He said he was arrested at his residence in Kotu by military personnel, among them, the accused, Sana Manjang.

He testified that he was taken to Mile 2 Central Prison and later transferred to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), where he was interrogated by a panel of security officials regarding an alleged coup plot linked to the late Colonel Ndure Cham.

Jasseh alleged that during his detention, he was subjected to repeated acts of torture by a group of military officers dressed in black, whom he said included the accused, Sana Manjang. “I was beaten, suffocated with a plastic bag, threatened with a firearm, and despite sustaining serious injuries, I was denied medical treatment,” Jasseh told the court.

The witness also testified that detainees were pressured to make statements and made to appear on national television to confess involvement in the alleged coup, adding that his own statement was made under duress.

Jasseh further told the court that he was eventually tried and convicted and had served over six years in prison before receiving a presidential pardon in 2012. “I later returned to the United States and came back to The Gambia in 2017, following a change of government, and I now serve as an adviser to the IGP,” Jassey said.

During cross-examination, the defence counsel challenged the consistency of Jasseh’s testimony and his identification of the accused, but the witness maintained that Manjang was among those who tortured him, and rejected suggestions of mistaken identity.

The defence then successfully applied to tender Jasseh’s previous statement as an exhibit without objection from the prosecution.

At one point, the State lawyer objected to questions relating to self-incrimination, but presiding judge, Justice Jobarteh, ruled that the line of questioning was permissible, noting that the witness had already been convicted of the offence in question.

The witness was subsequently discharged.

At this point, the State informed the court that its next witness was unavailable due to illness, which the defence team countered with an argument that an alternative witness be called, since a list of witnesses have already been provided to the court.

The matter was adjourned to April 24, for the prosecution to call another witness.

State Counsel ER Dunga appeared for the prosecution while Counsel SK Jobe represented the accused.

Source: The Standard