by PK Jarju
Mr. President, last night while surfing the internet, I came across proceedings of the inquest into the death of 12 persons during the April 10 and 11 student demonstration. And as a parent, I couldn't help but wept profusely while reading it.
It was just sad and while it may have happened eight years ago, I can still imagine the pain and sufferings the parents and relatives of these children must be going through in their everyday lives.
Mr. President, on December 31 2007, you showed the Gambian people how much it meant to father a son by organizing a grand naming ceremony in your village, Kanilai. You even went to the extend of declaring that day a public holiday in order to enable all civil servants to grace the occasion, while ignoring the huge financial and economic losses it would cause to the public and private sectors.
And now while playing with your son and daughter in your mighty place ready to defend them to your last breath against any danger, you should remember that there are over a dozen parents in the country, who have lost their children on April 10 and 11 2000.
Their children have been brutally butchered in broad day light by military and police officers acting on God knows whose orders.
Mr. President, these parents never had the opportunity to say goodbye to their kids. All parents were expecting to have lunch with their children after school. But instead, they found their lifeless bodies in a mortuary at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital with their little faces covered, their school socks and shoes on.
These parents are less privileged. They are ordinary Gambians who work hard to look after their families while expecting your government to guarantee their security. But instead, you and your government failed them.
While your loved ones were all safely at home, you and your men on the ground didn't care. They acted like the Apartheid South African police, spraying bullets at the very people they swore to protect.
As I type this letter, Mr. President, I could hear their endless cries for justice. I could hear their voices and could feel their pain and anger. This anger will continue to boil in their chests until the Day of Judgment when every soul shall assemble before Almighty Allah and be accounted for his deeds.
Mr. President, please don't misunderstood my intentions here. I know that you and your cronies will try to accuse me of digging old wounds by writing this piece. Sorry if that is what you are thinking but the April 10 and 11 incident is not forgotten and will never be forgotten. It is still fresh in the minds and souls of every sane Gambian who believes in justice, peace and prosperity.
Mr. President, the decision by your government to shelve the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry that your humble self appointed to look into the disturbances of April 10 and 11, has made Gambians believed that you gave the shoot to kill order to the security officers on the ground. And this suspicion will continue to remain in our minds as long as you and your government continue to sit on the truth.
It is still not too late for for the culprits to be brought to book. The 2001 Indemnity Act passed by your APRC dominated National Assembly can still be repeal. If the National Media Commission Act and Decree 89 can be repealled, why can't the Indemnity Act.
You have to start acting and behaving as leader of a nation. National interest should override our political and personal interests.
Like Halifa Sallah stated in his letter in April 2001, a government which is fit to lead a sovereign people is one which is committed to principles, standards and values aimed at safeguarding and enlarging the dignity and worth of our people. A personality whose only vision is to acquire and retain power and whose only mission is how to acquire and retain power by any means can only sow the seed of political decadence in a nation. The ramification of this is the display of utter disregard for the dignity and worth of the sovereign Gambian people.
Mr. President, your statement during the country's 43rd independence anniversary at the Independence Stadium in Bakau that you are in the process of "creating a new Gambia; a country where each and everyone of us will be held accountable and responsible for our actions, and a country where services, justice and all the hallmarks and principles of justice, equality and honest governance will permeate every section of society" can only be taken seriously if you stand aside and let justice prevail. Not only for the families of April 10 and 11, but for all those who were brutalised by your security officers.
In so doing, our beloved country will no doubt move forward. That is what good leaders do. They put the interest of the citizenry first.
Remember what you said in your independence speech: "greatness cannot be borrowed or imported. People do great things that make them great, and nations do things that lead them to greatness. Greatness is, therefore, an offshoot of factors that devoted citizens influence, alter or transform. Hence, no nation can become great if its citizens are indolent, indifferent, divided and destructive."
Mr. President, as it is a month to the commemoration of the eight anniversary of the bloody student demonstration, I will be reproducing proceedings of the Coroner's Inquest beginning with the testimonies of the victim's parents and a Cuban pathologist in bid to draw your sympathy towards the victims and their families. You may have already read it in the Coroner's and Commission of Inquiry reports, which I believe are now covered in dust somewhere in you office, but I still hope that as Muslim, you will have the heart and courage to allow justice to prevail.
PROCEEDING OF 24 APRIL 2000
Courtesy of Foroyaa Newspaper
In his opening statement, the Coroner said that his role was to inquire into the causes of the deaths of the 12 victims. Eleven witnesses who identified the bodies of the victims at the mortuary testified on 24 April.
TESTIMONY OF KEBBA SANYANG
Kebba Sanyang, father of Abdoulie Sanyang, told the Coroner that he lives in Old Jeshwang; that Abdoulie Sanyang (deceased) was his son; that he was three years old and was living with him at his home; that Abdoulie met his death outside his compound at Old Jeshwang between 9 a.m. and 12 noon.
He said his compound has two gates; that he was standing at one of them with the late Abdoulie; that upon observation of the students/paramilitary movement he told him to get into the compound; that although he got in he got out through the other gate where other members of the compound, men, women and children were standing; that as the movement of the paramilitary and the students drew near, the crowd rushed and the deceased, Abdoulie, fell, got up and fell, got up and fell again.
He said he died instantly; that he was picked up and taken to the RVH by a neighbour, Abdoulie Kujabi; that he received the body on 12 April and buried him the same day.
TESTIMONY OF BABA NJIE
Baba Njie, uncle of Lamin Njie, lives in Brikama; that he is a farmer; that he was the uncle and the guardian of the late Lamin Njie; that Lamin was attending GTTI and residing at Ebo Town; that he died on 10 April during events of 10 April; that on Thursday, 13 April he identified the body at the mortuary at RVH; that the body was laid to rest at Bulock on Friday, 14 April 2000.
TESTIMONY OF SANG PIERRE MENDY
Sang Pierre Mendy, in his testimony, said that he is a security officer and lives at New Jeshwang; that he knew Calisco Priera; that they are not related but that the mother lives in his compound; that he together with the sister of Calisco's mother identified Calisco's body at the mortuary at RVH; that he does not know the age and nationality of the deceased; that Calisco's mother is called Marie Therese Sonko.
TESTIMONY OF MARIE THERESE SONKO
Marie Therese Sonko, Calisco's mother, later confirmed that the deceased was her son who was born in 1982; that because he suffered from polio for the first three years he started school late; that he was a student at St. Charles Luwanga but could not go to school this year because he had not paid his fees. She said that the body had been laid to rest.
TESTIMONY OF MAFUGY BADJIE
Mafugy Badjie, uncle of Burama Badgie, told the Coroner that he was the uncle of the deceased; that the father, Bubacarr Badjie was very sick; that Burama was 10 years and was attending Tallinding Primary School; that he died on Monday, 10 April; that they learnt of the death on Wednesday, 12 April; that he identified the body in Banjul and when they got the body they buried him on the same day.
TESTIMONY OF MUSA COKER, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE GAMBIA RED CROSS SOCIETY ON OMAR BARROW
Mr. Coker said that he lives at Kanifing Housing Estate and was a nurse by profession. He said further that he knew the late Omar Barrow as a volunteer of the Red Cross Movement; that he does not know his age but he knew that he was married with a family.
He told the Coroner that he saw Omar at the Red Cross helping the wounded and that while in his office he heard gun shots in the street and people running from the Mobile Police Station end to the Red Cross; that he suddenly heard a loud cry in Wollof "they have shot Omar"; that on coming out he found Omar lying on his back outside the office block surrounded by volunteers inside the camp; that he was later moved to the corridor of the office then to the RVH in Banjul. He said he had identified the body on 12 April and was buried on the sameday.
TESTIMONY OF BASSIROU BARROW
Bassirou Barrow, father of Karamo Barrow, said he is a fitter and lives in Ebo Town; that the late Karamo was going to ICE High School and was born in 1976. He said Karamo was his first son; that he last saw Karamo in the morning of 10 April 2000; that he learnt of the death later in the day; that at about 2 p.m on 11 April they identified the body; that on 12 April, the body was handed over to them and was buried on the same day.
TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH B. CARROL
Mr. Joseph B. Carrol, father of Reginald Carrol, told the Coroner that he was living at Latrikunda Yiriyanga; that Reginald was doing computer studies at FBI at Old Jeshwang; that he was his son; that he left for Banjul on 10 April in the morning to cash a cheque; that he was later called by his wife who told him that Reginald had not returned home and his whereabouts was not known; that he said he had asked her to come and meet him in Banjul so that they can check at the RVH, where they later got the information of his death; that they were informed that he died during the students riot; that on Tuesday he was informed by the surgeon that his child died of gunshot wounds; that after receiving the body he discovered wounds and that he was finally buried on 17 April 2000.
TESTIMONY OF SAINEY GINGALLY
The seventh person to give evidence was the grandfather of Wuyeh Mansally, Sainey Gingally, who claimed that he received the body on Wednesday, 12 April 2000 and took to Casamance where he was buried.Sainey Gingally claimed that Wuyeh was born in Senegal and had only come here to study Arabic at the Tallinding Islamic Institute; that Wuyeh was born in 1980.
TESTIMONY OF MBYE CHUNE
The eight witness was one Mbye Chune, the father of the late Momodou Lamin Chune; he said that M.L. Chune was his first born and was 15 years old; that he was attending Latrikunda Junior Secondary School; that he got information of the death of his son from his fellow students that he had been shot at their school gate; that after two days search for the body they discovered him at the mortuary of the RVH and received the body on 12 April 2000 and buried the same day at 5 p.m.
TESTIMONY OF ABDOULIE BOJANG
Mr. Abdoulie Bojang of Tallinding gave testimony that he is the father of Lamin Abdoulie Bojang of Nusrat Senior Secondary School who is now deceased; that he is his first son and child; that he was found to be killed on Monday 10 April, 2000.
He said that he went on a trek to Basse on the preceding Saturday; that he learnt about the students incident and returned on that Monday; that he arrived in the evening and having learnt about his son not being seen home since after he went to school in the morning, he rushed to one Lamin Jarjue, his son's classmate to enquire; that he was told that they were together in school for their exams but were later dispersed when some other students stormed their school and they then headed towards Serrekunda through the Brikama Highway and during which commotion they lost each other in the crowd.
Mr. Bojang continued that upon hearing this he decided to proceed with his wife to the RVH in Banjul but first passed through the police station to check whether he was detained, but he was not there; that at the RVH he was shown a list of patients but the name of his son was not there; that it was there that he was informed about the death of his son; that he requested to see the body but was denied access; that he managed to see the body of his son who was shot at the back of his head on 11 April 2000; that there were also bruises on the face which might have been sustained when he fell down; that they were there up to 4.30 p.m. but were not allowed to collect the body; that it was on Wednesday, 12 April at around 12.30 p.m; that they were given the body which was later taken and buried in Jamburr the same day. He indicated that he saw the body after an autopsy was already performed on it.
PROCEEDING OF 25 APRIL 2000
TESTIMONY OF MR ALPHA BAH
The next witness to testify on Tuesday, 25 April 2000 was Mr. Alpha Bah, guardian of the late Ousman Sabally of Kerewan Samba Sireh in the CRD.
Mr. Bah stated that Ousman Sabally was his ward and nephew; that he died at Bansang Hospital as a result of the students incident in Brikamaba where he was attending school; that he was shot and rushed to Bansang Hospital by him and other relatives; that this incident occurred on Tuesday, 11 April 2000; that he was 15 years old; that they received the body on the following day Wednesday for burial; that he was since buried; that he was in grade 8; that he saw the body as he was bleeding profusely on both the chest and the back; that he was in school uniform.
TESTIMONY OF MUSTAPHA KUJABIE
He told the Coroner that he lives in Old Jeshwang and his occupation is masonry; that Kebba Sanyang is his neighbour and that Abdoulie Sanyang is Kebba Sanyang's son; that he is an infant; that on 10 April 2000, he heard some gun shots and came out of his compound and saw people running; that he saw the police dispersing the students and went back into his compound; that forty five minutes later, a woman came to him to seek assistance; that when he went he saw the deceased; that he took him to the Royal Victoria Hospital; that the hospital staff confirmed that the child was dead.
TESTIMONY OF INSPECTOR JOBE
Inspector Biran Jobe told the Coroner that he is part of the Serious Crime Squad; that on 10 April 2000 he was at GTTI where there was a students' demonstration; that he returned to the police headquarters at about 11.00 and was assigned to the RVH to look after victims involved in the students' demonstration; that on the morning of 11 April, 2000, he went to the mortuary where he found some corpses and he had cause to prepare some forms to enable autopsy to be done on the bodies before burial; that at that time not all bodies had been identified; that after the authorisation the said forms were handed over to the pathologist; that they had 11 bodies that day; that all the bodies were later identified except one which is yet to be identified; that the number given to that deceased was PM 44/2000; that he is a male; that it was difficult to identify where he was found; that no information is available as to who escorted him to the hospital; that the Criminal Records Office of the Police Headquarters took photographs of all the bodies in the mortuary.At this point, he applied to tender six photographs together with their negatives of the unidentified body.
They were admitted and marked A,B,C,D,E,F, He went on to say that they issued notices at the public notices at police stations but up to now no one has come forward; that he had to go back to the Coroner to obtain authority to dispose of the unidentified body; that it has now been laid to rest at the Old Jeshwang cemetery.
At this stage, at the request of the Coroner, he tendered the photographs of the other eleven bodies. He said that apart the autopsies were carried out by Dr Omar Sam and Dr Sorhegui Rafael.
CROSS EXAMINATION
After examination by counsel, Abdoulie Bojang, father of Lamin Bojang, cross examined Inspector Jobe. He asked Inspector Jobe why he failed to ask him to witness the autopsy of his son.
In response, Mr. Jobe said that this was the first time he was assigned such a task; that it was the relatives who requested to witness the autopsy.
TESTIMONY OF DR SORHEGUI RAFAEL
He told the Coroner that he is from Cuba; that he is a pathologist at the RVH and has been there for 10 months; that he has been a pathologist since 1976; that he received a request from the police for an autopsy on 11 April 2000; that the request forms bore the names of the deceased persons.
He was asked to read out the names and he read out the following names: Abdoulie Sanyang; Burama Badgie and Wuyeh Mansally. Upon request he tendered the forms in evidence.He said further that he performed autopsies on the bodies of these deceased persons on 11 April 2000 and that he was assisted by Dr Sam, the pathologist in charge.
He then proceeded to inform the Coroner about his findings:1.
ABDOULIE SANYANG: In the external examination there was no damage or wound and no evidence of chronic disease.
Internal examination: He indicated injuries and swellings in the left lungs. As to the cause of death, Dr Rafael indicated that the left pulmonary vein crushed; that it could have been pressed physically.
2. BURAMA BADJIE:
Examination revealed that the deceased sustained gun shot wounds from the back causing loss of blood and damage to the lungs.
The doctor proceeded to say that the cause of death was massive haemorrhage;that two wounds were visible: entry point at the right upper chest and at the back.The counsel asked the doctor to tell the court whether the entry point of 20mm and exit of 30mm is due to a live bullet or a blank bullet. In response, he said it was due to a live bullet; that it cannot be sutured; that in the cause of examination he did not come across any bullet in the body because of the speed. Asked whether he had any experience to have an idea as to the type of bullet used, he answered in the negative.
3. WUYEH MANSALLY:
Dr Rafael told the inquest that Wuyeh Mansally was aged 19 years; that he had sustained a wound on the right side of his neck of length 25mm; that the wound penetrated the left jaw causing the jaw to fracture around the exit; that as a result of the force of the bullet moving at high speed the tongue was cut at the main joint around the gullet.
Dr Rafael went on to indicate that as a result of this there was serious bleeding which led to Mansally's immediate death. When asked if the wound was caused by a live bullet, he answered in the positive. Asked further whether the bullet was fired at close range, he said that it can be estimated to have been fired from a range of about 13 metres. He was also asked why the exit of the wound was larger than the penetration, he said that it was due to the high velocity at which the bullet was travelling; that this forced small particles of bones around the fractured area of the jaw to go out with the bullet.
He was also asked if the other parts of the body were affected and he answered in the negative. He was asked if a rubber bullet can cause a penetrating wound, he answered in the positive but noted that it cannot have the same impact as a live bullet.
Read my column next week for another Pathologist, Dr Sam's report on Momodou Lamin Njie; Calisco Priera; Karamo Barrow; Reginald Carrol; Omar Barrow; Momodou Lamin Chune; Lamin A. Bojang and Ousman Sabally.Until then, Assalamalaikum For comments write to Papak196@yahoo.co.uk.
