Gambian Government Officially Confirmed The Death Of Journalist Chief Manneh!!!

….As Justice Minister Saine Releases The Bombshell

By Staff Writer Lamin Jarju, Banjul

The Gambian Government has officially confirmed the death of  journalist Ebrima Chief Manneh, as Justice Sectary Marie Saine Fardues said her office had made fruitless efforts to locate the whereabouts of the missing journalist without success. Minister Marie Saine said she has personally contacted virtually all security agencies in the country, with the view of establishing Manneh’s whereabouts, but was told by the respective security chiefs that the journalist was not under their custody. “I have inquired from the director general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Prison, and to the best of their knowledge, information and belief, Chief Manneh is not in their custody. The State can only release a person from custody, if he or she is in fact in the custody of the State,” Marie Saine tells Members of National Assembly. The Minister’s declaration confirmed fears expressed in some quarters that the journalist might have been secretly executed by the state.  

The US based Freedom Newspaper last year reported about the demise of journalist Chief Manneh. The paper quoted highly placed sources in Government, who confirmed the death of Manneh. Sources said Manneh was executed by Government agents.

Responding to a question posed by the Minority leader Momodou Lamin Sanneh,who asked the Minister  to throw light on the whereabouts of Chief Manneh and also the court verdict recently passed by the ECOWAS court in favour of the missing journalist, Minister Saine remarked that Chief Manneh was not in the hands of the state.  She said there was no information suggesting that Manneh was arrested, or detained by the state.  “As far as my office is concerned, the family members of Chief Manneh and their cohorts did not take legal action against the Government in the High Court of The Gambia,  in accordance with law against the alleged unlawful detention of Chief Ebrima Manneh by agents of the State Security apparatus,” the Minister said, while dismissing the verdict of the ECOWAS court.

She says The Gambian Government is not culpable of any crime,  and therefore, it has no case to answer. She says the decision of the ECOWAS court came as a shock to the Government, arguing that how can the Government be held accountable for the whereabouts  of a journalist who is not in their possession. Minister Saine rejected the court’s decision,  describing it as null and void. She wants the regional court to overturn the said decision against The Gambian Government. She said as far as The Government of The Gambia was concerned, the said verdict doesn’t hold water at all.

Meanwhile, all hopes for Chief Manneh’s whereabouts have been dashed. The Minister has signalled to  the bereaved families to give up their hope in seeing journalist Chief Manneh again. Shock and disbelief continue to grip the Manneh family.