Sergeant Modou Lamin Bah, a former Military Police, has told the Truth Commission that the former Chief of Defence Staff Lang Tombong Tamba unlawfully sacked him and Corporal Bala Musa Saidy from the Gambia National Army without any benefits after twenty years of services.
The former Sergeant testifying as 34th witness explained the circumstances that led to their unceremonious dismissal from the army after they went to arrest alleged drug dealers at Kerr Sering. He said that the alleged drug dealers jumped over the fence and ran away when they arrived.
Later, the two of them were arrested by Captain Bora Colley, Lt. Babucarr Bah and Alagie Camara, a military intelligent on the orders of then army commander, Lang Tombong Tamba. They spent six months in cell at Yundum Camp before their dismissals and taken to court.
“Lang Tombong came to threaten us to returned Mamadi Ceesay’s money or he will take us to Mile 2 Prisons,” Sergeant Bah told the commission.
He added: “We were dismissed on the orders of Lang Tombong.”
Bah denied taking any money or shooting anyone but the army still decided to dismiss them without hearing their side of the story. They were acquitted and discharged by the high court after spending four years at remand. He added that Lawyer Borry Touray, wrote to the Defence Headquarters to reinstate them but only received threatening respond of court martial.
Sergeant Bah who later became an Orderly to former Army Commander, Babucarr Jatta during the military transition gave detailed accounts of the military coup in July 1994.
It is his testimony that the Nigerian Camp Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Odu had a discussion with Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh at his office while he was serving as the Commander’s Orderly. The Commander had advised Lt. Jammeh to go for President at State House after the attempted coup failed at the airport on the 21 July 1994.
“Lt. Colonel Odu told Lt. Yahya Jammeh to use the military exercise as a cover up,” he told the commission.
Sergeant Bah also recalled that the morning of the coup, someone had brought concoction to Lt. Yahya Jammeh who drank from it and rubbed on his face before passing on to Lieutenants Sana Sabally, Edward Singhateh and rest of the soldiers at Yundum Barracks.
Meanwhile, the witness implicates Alagie Kanyi in the incidents of November 11, who later turned against his colleagues. He also alleges WO2 Lamin Colley that he intentionally killed Sgt. Fafa Nyang.
