Freedom Newspaper (Raleigh, North Carolina)
M. B. Ceesay
12 March 2008
Banjul — Following tales of division and uncertainty in the Gambian army, in a surprise move today, President Yahya Jammeh promoted army chief Lang Tombong Tamba to the position of Major General. Brigadier General Tamba was this evening elevated to a new rank by the President.
His promotion came at a time when Banjul, is about to host the West African soldiers meeting due to be held at month's end.
CDS Tamba is seen as president Jammeh's man since the foiled coup that could have seen the president out of power. He played a vital role in foiling the March coup.
Recently, some military heads from Guinea Bissau and Senegal met in Banjul. The meeting was geared towards to promote sub-regional peace. This was greeted with joy as a communiqué was signed to defend each other. President Jammeh said it was the white men who drew boundaries but their countries were all the same as the all eat the same food and speak a lot of the languages in all the three countries.
Many believe that it is a way of compensating the CDS for his loyalty and to encourage him to hold on to protecting him in his throne. Some officials of the army said Tamba's promotion was meant to frustrate efforts to dislodge the dictator. " Whether he likes or not, he is going. There is no promotion that can save him. Tamba is a ceremonial soldier. Our men are very angry with the President. Just watch, what will happen in days to come." said an army official.
Sources close to the GNA said Tamba's promotion was meant to discourage any move on the side of Tamba to topple the President's Government during his pending Dakar visit. " The President is living in fear. He thought that the best way to impress Lang is to promote him. He was suppose to leave for Dakar for the Islamic conference scheduled for the 14TH, but for some reasons, he is afraid to travel. Now that he has promoted Lang, he thought that he is safe. We are watching all his steps. Just wait.... We are going to take a showdown on a day, he will live to regret. How come Lang is the only officer being promoted? Our able commander Masaneh Kinteh is being denied promotion because he is a Mandingka. Kinteh is more competent than Lang." said an official of the army.
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