By Fatou Krubally
A retired senior officer of the Gambia Armed Forces has petitioned the Reparations Commission, claiming his request to be recognized as a victim of unlawful detention during the Jammeh era has gone unanswered.
In a letter addressed to the Commission’s Chairperson, Colonel Samsudeen Sarr (Rtd.) said he submitted his request on January 12, following a public outreach to victims, but has received no acknowledgement.
“Today is 26 January 2026, and my letter has ostensibly vanished into bureaucratic darkness,” he wrote. “No acknowledgement, no reply, and no courtesy of even a receipt.”
Sarr said he was arrested and detained at Mile Two Central Prison from July 27, 1994, to May 15, 1995, alongside officers now officially recognized as victims, including Chief of Defence Staff General Mamat Cham, Major Malick Njie, and National Security Adviser Aboubacarr Jeng.
He criticized the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) for denying him the opportunity to testify despite his formal request. He described the process as unfair, saying the Commission “wrote judgment against me without hearing me.”
Sarr noted that the government later cleared him of wrongdoing in its White Paper. “Exonerated by the government, I am now condemned by silence,” he said.
He also questioned the compensation of Balo Kanteh, described as a convicted mercenary linked to the 1996 Farafenni Barracks attack, calling it “both an administrative blunder and a moral catastrophe.”
Sarr raised concerns over transparency regarding an early disbursement of D50 million to the Victims’ Centre, and emphasized that his petition is aimed at restoring his reputation rather than seeking financial compensation.
“I am not pursuing reparations for money but to scrape off a stain painted on my name without trial, without truth, and without conscience,” he wrote.
He urged the commission to respond, noting its mandate is to heal victims, not overlook them.