Gambian Diplomat Charged With Disclosing State Secrets!!!

By Staff Writer Lamin Baldeh, Banjul

The Financial attaché at The Gambian Embassy in Washington DC, is currently serving as a guest at the offices of the feared National Intelligence Agency, the Freedom Newspaper has learnt. Lamin Sanyang, the longest serving financial attaché at the DC Mission, has been charged with disclosing official secrets to the US based Freedom Newspaper and as well as economic crimes. Mr. Sanyang, a close confidant of Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh, cum his business errand boy, had fallen out with the Head of State, amidst reports that he shared “confidential Government communications with the Freedom Newspaper” regarding the financial situation of the embassy, which was a subject of Government probe at the Foreign Ministry level. Sanyang is being grilled over the alleged leakage of the said “ confidential” documents to the Freedom Newspaper, which were under his custodian. The Freedom Newspaper recently publishes verbatim the communications between Mr. Sanyang, the NIA and the Foreign Ministry, pertaining the alleged missing $88,000 dollars at The Gambian Mission. Sanyang had earlier alleges that  he was accused by the recalled NIA attaché at the Embassy Ousman  Taal of embezzling embassy funds, totaling at $88,000 dollars, a charge Mr. Taal emphatically denied. Taal in turn accuses Lamin Sanyang and his colleagues at the embassy of trying to blackmail him with bogus correspondences issued under his name. 

Lamin Sanyang, is the son of the veteran Gambian broadcaster Momodou Sanyang. He was lured into visiting Banjul by the President Yahya Jammeh, which led into his subsequent arrest and imprisonment. Reports have it that Mr. Sanyang have had his services with The Gambian Government terminated with immediate effect, as he awaits to stand trial on economic crimes and other related charges.

Sources close to the NIA indicate that Mr. Sanyang angered the Director of the Agency’s External Affairs Ousman Sowe, when he allegedly tried to associate him with the exiled Gambia Student Union President Omar Joof. It has been gathered that the President was equally saddened and devastated by such misinformation being peddled by the DC embassy with the objective of clearing themselves from the  missing thousands at the embassy.

In one of the communications, it was alleged that Ousman Sowe alongside with Omar Joof were busy trying to secure political asylum for Ousman Taal in the United States, a charge Omar Joof vehemently denied in an interview with the Freedom Newspaper.

Now Mr. Sanyang is being questioned in relation to some of the said communications, including the confidential letters he exchanged with the relevant authorities. The NIA wants to know his ties with the Freedom Newspaper.

 It has also been alleged that an insider at the DC embassy, forwarded the phone records of the Freedom Newspaper to the President in order to confirm to him that Sanyang was speaking to the Editors of the paper. The Freedom newspaper had an official business line and therefore all previous calls made to the embassy pertaining the missing thousands controversy portrayed the Freedom Newspaper name on their caller ID. The embassy insider said Lamin Sanyang was reported by a close associate of his to the President.

The Editors of the Freedom Newspaper contacted The Gambian Mission in DC recently soliciting a reaction from the embassy regarding the alleged financial embezzlement allegations against Lamin Sanyang. Our move was meant to avail Mr. Sanyang and all those associated with the corruption racket to clear themselves from the said allegations.

Regrettably, our actions were being misinterpreted in some quarters, as some embassy staff took it among themselves to frame one another to the President.

As the situation appears, Lamin Sanyang is still under detention at the NIA. He is yet to be released on bail. His father Momodou Sanyang has been prevailing on the President to consider granting his son amnesty, but a rather furious Jammeh is  refusing to welcome any audience at this hour.