Freedom Newspaper (Raleigh, North Carolina)
9 April 2008
Eight years after the gruesome murder of 14 unarmed Gambian students by the country's security forces, former student leaders have formally named Gambian officials responsible for the killings of their colleagues. Erstwhile Gambia Student Union leader Alhagie Nyabally and his outspoken Information Minister Ebrima Dibba are pointing accusing fingers at four former Government officials, as being responsible for the demise of their colleagues. Nyabally and Dibba both of whom are living in exile, in a joint statement issued today, accused Ousman Badjie, former Interior Minister, Baboucarr Jatta, former Army Commander, Rex King, former Inspector General of police and Ann Therese Ndong Jatta, former Education Minister. The former student leaders say the four named former officials misled both President Yahya Jammeh and VP Njie Saidy about the intentions of their colleagues on the day in question. Nyabally and Dibba said the following Gambian students were killed by the security forces, thanks to leadership blunder. The list of the murdered students reads as follow:
1. Baboucarr Badjie, Talinding Arabic school
2. Wuyai Foday Mansareh, Anglican Institute
3. Momodou Lamin Chune, Latrikunda Junior Secondary school
4. Momodou Lamin Njie GTTI
5. Claesco Pierra, New Jewswang Secondary school,
6. Karomo Barrow ICE High Baboucarr school
7. Regional Carrol
8. Lamin A Bojang, Nusrat Senior Secondary School
9. Ousman Sabally, Brikamaba
10. Sainey Nyabally, Brikamaba
11. Bamba Jobarteh, Armitage Senior Secondary School
12. Unidentified teenager killed
13. Abdoulie Sanyang
14. Omar Barrow, former journalist/Red Cross Volunteer was also shot dead.
The former student leaders used the occasion to pray for the eternal rest of their late gallant colleagues, whom they described as victims of state sponsored murder and brutality. Dibba and Nyabally who had a one hour interview with the Freedom Newspaper called on The Gambian Government to prosecute security officials responsible for the demise of their colleagues. They said such callous and barbaric act cannot go unpunished. Dibba and Nyabally deplored the irresponsible comments made by the Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy that the shooting started within the students. " This was the most irresponsible statement ever issued by the Vice President. I would call it the most stupidest statement ever issued by this shameless and immoral Vice President. She is a disgrace to Gambian women. She should withdraw her statement and apologize to the bereaved families. The security forces started the shooting and they also killed our colleagues. They are responsible for the killings." Ebrima Dibba tells the Freedom Newspaper.
Mr. Dibba accuses the Vice President of being a pathological liar. " I do not buy her basket of lies and deception at all. Because, thinking about students, who do not even have knives in their pockets, how can they have access to guns to a point that they were able to shoot their fellow students. Killing their fellow 14 students for what reason? This was one of the biggest blunder ever committed by the Vice President in her life time. She needs to apologize to Gambians." Dibba added.
For his part Alhagie Nybally widely known as Mandela, said he was equally shocked and dismayed by the Vice President's irresponsible statement. " The VP Isatou Njie Saidy said in National TV that the students shot themselves with guns. I personally watched the TV and I was really shocked. With all due respect to her.....if I talk now, people, I am sure those who have been following my story in the country, they would not say Nybally and Dibba are cowards. Because when we were there, we told the authorities that this has happened and this is our stance. And we mean this, and we mean this....We were totally blunt with it when we were there. We went to the state house, before the President, with due respect to him, we still maintained the same stance." Said Nybally.
Mr. Nybally speaking from an undisclosed location for security reasons said he was a living witness to the killing of the Gambian students, including journalist Omar Barrow. "The VP in her own conscience as a faithful Muslim, she knows definitely that the students never had guns, not even knives to stab or kill each other. We were students. Our only power is pen and paper. So if she says students shot themselves, when the President was away, may be perhaps was to console the heart of the President. As Dibba said somebody ordered for the killings of the students. Who ordered for the killings? When we were in The Gambia, we kept pressing, pressing, pressing and I finally said history will tell. God, we will forgive because we are tied to an inexcusable network, where we have been harassed, bullied, molested, tortured and here and there. Now we said our destiny is in the hands of God. Who ordered the killings was never said, was never known, but those who actually were engaged in the operations knows actually what happened. But whoever was responsible should apologize to Gambians." Said Nyabally.
Mr. Nybally said it was wrong for the Vice President to make such misleading and unsubstantiated statement. " I was on the ground on that fateful day. We were at the GTTI entrance. We were later forcefully dispersed by the soldiers. A lot of people were shot dead on the ground and others died after the incident because of the torture and gunshot they have had, which they received from the security forces." Said Nybally.
Nybally said April 10 and 11 was the darkest day of our nation's history. He says the soldiers used maximum force to quell the demonstration, which resulted into the death of 14 students, including a journalist/Red Cross Volunteer Omar Barrow. He says they personally collected Omar Barrow's dead body at the gate of the Red Cross Society in Kanifing. He says Barrow was killed by the soldiers.
The students were demonstrating against the death of their colleague Ebrima Barry, who was reportedly tortured to death by personnel of the Fire and Ambulance Services. Also among their concerns were, the rapping of one teenager school girl, in the person of Binta Manneh allegedly by some paramilitary officers. The girl was raped during their inter-schools sports competition, by some paramilitary officers.
" These two problems compounded the issue. We had to instruct the President at the time Mr. Omar Joof , who did all his best to meet the authorities, but unfortunately SOS Ann Therese Ndong Jatta at the time was very rude with the students. She never complied to meet with the students. Rex King who was the IGP at the time was also not professional. He acted very unprofessionally, because I personally wrote two letters to him, in which I stressed the need for speedy trial for Ebrima Barry. We had a meeting on the 7TH, that was on Friday. Again, myself, Alhagie Camara, Baboucarr Jongan and the late Baboucarr Ann. We were supposed to meet on Saturday, that was on the 8TH, he said he was busy and couldn't receive us. That he doesn't have time." He added.
Nyabally adds that former Interior Minister Ousman Badjie was also responsible for the students killings.
" On the 9TH, on Sunday, another stupid SOS for Interior Ousman Badjie made a press release on GRTS. So you see how stupid and unprofessional some of these Ministers were. They have put the present Government at stake. They have acted unprofessionally because if they have acted professionally, incidents like this wouldn't have happened. He also threatened that if the students went ahead with the demonstration, they would regret why they were born. Ousman Badjie was one of the people who were responsible for the killings." Said Nyabally.
He says Ousman Badjie, Therese Ndong Jatta, Baboucarr Jatta and Rex King misled President Jammeh that the students were being used by the country's opposition to demonstrate. " They ordered the security forces to kill and not the President. The President was away. He was not in the country. They misled the President." Nyabally charged.
Regrettably, said Nyabally some of their colleagues, especially Baboucarr Jogan, now in the UK, the late Baboucarr Ann were being used by the NIA to spy at them. He says both Jongan and Ann were on the payroll of the NIA. " This came as a big surprise to us. The NIA infiltrated our Union and hired some of our Executive members as undercover operatives. We felt betrayed by the actions of our colleagues. After all, we were on a just cause and have nothing to fear or worry." Said Nyabally.
Earlier on, Nybally gave a vivid account about the history of GAMSU and unionism. He explained the history of NUGS and GAMSU. He says the former was perceived as a radical student union by the then Jawara Government, which was later banned. He says the then Gambian students in Sierra Leone were the pioneers of NUGS.
According to Nyabally, GAMSU too suffered the same mistreatment under the Jammeh Government. He says the former Majority Leader Baba Jobe was very instrumental in the creation of NAPSA, which was formed basically to undermine the activities of GAMSU. He says he was kicked out of the University of The Gambia, following his refusal to bow down to official pressure to rally behind the Government. Nybally's scholarship was suspended with immediate effect. He also suffered numerous arrest and persecution in the hands of the trigger happy Jammeh secret bully agents.
His colleague Ebrima Dibba lambasted the sacked Information Minister Neneh Mawdowl Gaye. Dibba said Neneh was hell bent on dividing Gambian students. He says both him and Nyabally turned down invitations extended to them by the erstwhile Minister to work with the APRC Government. Dibba and Nyabally said they were not into unionism for personal aggrandizement, but to serve the general interest of Gambian students. " We refused to be corrupted by Neneh Macdowl Gaye. She applied all kinds of games to lure us into the APRC, but we refused. We ensured that there was a democratic transition of Executive handing over. We played our part effectively. All what we want is justice for our murdered colleagues. We need justice." They said. Justice under Jammeh's era? " Justice shall come one day, no matter how long it would take. Justice shall come one day." They said.
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