By Dawda M. Jallow
Former soldier Sanna Manjang on Tuesday began his defence before the High Court in Banjul, testifying about his military career and his role as commander of patrol operations in Kanilai during the period covered by the charges against him.
Proceedings opened with the withdrawal of Manjang’s bail application before the defence called him to testify.
When the case was called, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions E.R. Dougan appeared for the State, while S.K. Jobe represented the accused.
Presiding Judge S.K. Jobarteh informed the court that she had received a motion on notice for bail and an affidavit in opposition from the prosecution. She asked defence counsel whether an affidavit in reply had been filed.
Jobe told the court that the affidavit in opposition had been served late the previous day, leaving insufficient time to prepare a response. He requested a 15-minute adjournment to consult his client, which the court granted.
When proceedings resumed, Jobe withdrew the bail application, explaining that the defence had not had adequate time to file the required response before the court’s vacation.
The prosecution did not object, and Justice Jobarteh struck out the application.
The defence then opened its case by calling Manjang as its first witness.
Testifying under oath, Manjang told the court he joined the Gambia Armed Forces in January 1994 and, after completing six months of training, was posted to Fajara Barracks as a regimental police officer.
He said he served there for two years before being promoted to lance corporal and later to corporal in 2002.
Following his promotion, Manjang testified that he underwent a three-month commando training programme in Libya, which he described as rigorous. He said he remained in Libya to assist in training other military personnel before returning to The Gambia after relations between the two countries deteriorated.
Upon his return, he said he was briefly assigned to State House before volunteering for duty with the Kanilai Patrol Unit after responding to a notice circulated within the military.
According to Manjang, he reported to Khalifa Bajika, who assigned him responsibility for patrol operations and provided vehicles for the assignment.
He told the court that his duties involved patrolling the Gambia-Senegal border to protect communities affected by insecurity linked to the Casamance conflict.
“The Casamance border area was under constant threat and our responsibility was to ensure Gambians living in those communities could go about their daily activities safely,” Manjang testified.
He also recounted an operation in which he said he led a mission to rescue seven Gambian soldiers who had allegedly been captured by rebels.
According to his testimony, his team pursued the armed group, exchanged fire and succeeded in rescuing the soldiers after a confrontation lasting about 45 minutes.
He told the court that only one of the rescued soldiers sustained a minor injury and that the group was later taken to Kalaji, where statements were given to the police.
Manjang further testified that between 90 and 100 soldiers were transferred monthly from Banjul to Kanilai under the directive of the then State House Commander and former Chief of Defense Staff, Ousman Badjie.
He said he selected personnel from those deployments for patrol operations and also requested additional troops when necessary.
According to Manjang, he served as Patrol Commander until 22 January 2017.
The hearing was adjourned after defense counsel requested more time, citing another court engagement.
Justice Jobarteh adjourned the case to 16 October 2026 for the continuation of the defense.