I was Denied Access To The President By SG Abdoulie Sallah- Jabbie Gassama Tells Court

Continuing his testimony in the ongoing treason trial of ex-chief of defense staff Lieutenant General Lang Tombong Tamba and seven others before Justice Emmanuel Amadi of the High Court in Banjul on Tuesday 30th March 2010 Oussaynou Jabbie – Kassama told the court that Abdulai Sallah former head of civil service did not allow the director general of the National Intelligence Agency to see eye to eye with the president in order to inform him of the planned coup d’ etat. 

He said, “I went to State House and NIA and informed that of the alleged coup. At State House, I met one Captain Jallow and explained to him that there is a boat coming from Guinea Bissau with arms and I want to catch the boat with the arms and how can we do this. I told him to give me an officer who can go with me to Guinea Bissau so that if I am with Kukoi and his men, he can take photos of them from a distance,” he said.

According to the witness, Jallow later told him to wait so that he too can inform the chief of the guards at State House. He said when the chief of guards arrived, he explained the same thing to him and they promised that should one would go with me to Guinea Bissau which never happens.

“I then went to the NIA and informed the director general who said he would take me to see the president and explain directly to him. He tried to make appointments with the former secretary secretary of the president but Sallah was not cooperative at all. Sallah asked him why he wanted to see the president. I later received a called and someone was threatening that is me who revealed the secret but I will know. I was afraid and left for Guinea Bissau.

When the director of public prosecution further asked the witness whether the boat that was supposed to transport the arms from Guinea Bissau to The Gambia was finally paid, he said no. Because he was arrested on a Saturday and the alleged coup plotters were to send him the money for the boat on a Monday.

The witness further said after his arrest by the authorities of Guinea Bissau, he told them that he knew the coup plot. He also said that he trained the mercenaries for 45 days because they are old soldiers and at that time Ngor Secka was working at The Gambian embassy in Bissau and every Friday, he used to come and met them(he the trainer and the mercenaries)   in Bambadinga in the bush.

Asked by the DPP whether he knows the motives of the coup and he said yes. Explaining further that the alleged coup was planned because the president only decides and do every thing he want. “He can put you here and tomorrow somewhere. I entered into the coup in other to know their plans. How they will do it, when and where by then I can reveal their secrets to the government of The Gambia,” he said.

Another motive of the coup is that the president took women and put them on top of men. For them they think women should behind men and not to lead them. And that the president brings strangers to monitor them not to do corrupt practices he told the court.

He said that an investigation was conducted by The Gambian authorities and during that period, he was found with a copy of a Gambian newspaper which contained the faces of the accused persons and other soldiers. “The authority took away the paper from me. It was on that day I know the real name of Ngor Secka who along told me that his name is Assan,” he said.

The witness further told the court that Ngor Secka told him that Lang Tombong Tamba is the chief of army staff while BO Badjie is the director general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). But according to the witness Ngor Secka later told him that the two are no longer in their positions.

“I told him that now these people are no longer there, how we can do this coup. Ngor told me Lang Tombong and BO Badjie have friends in the army and the NIA and they will do the job for them,” he told the court.

According to the witness, an identification parade was conducted at the NIA where he recognized BO Badjie and Lang Tombong Tamba.

The copy of the Daily Observer, the restaurant, the boat and their pictures were all marked and tendered as exhibits without objection from the defense counsel of the accused persons.

“One Kabirou Saidy normally led Ngor Secka in Guinea Bissau because he doesn’t know the country very well,” the witness said.

The witness further said that he took Kukoi and Ngor Secka to one Kankai Suwareh, a grand marabout in Guinea Bissau. Who told them that the sacrifice for the juju is seven red cows, white cows seven and seven black cows. And that the cows should be killed at a sea side during high tide. This should be done on a Friday and the meat be distributed among the poor people.

When the DPP asked him who pay for the cows, the witness said he doesn’t know but he always saw Kukoi coming with a briefcase and each cow cost 100,000 CFA.

According to him, the marabout gave some holy water to Kukoi and Ngor to bath with for protection. He said that he knew the coup would not be possible because he told Kukoi and Ngor that the time for the sacrifice is change from 5pm to 5am and this people did that exactly.

He also told the court that Ngor and Kukoi asked him to provide them with four wheel drive vehicles which he provided to them. “We discussed the price and each vehicle is five million CFA and for renting is 75 thousand CFA.The car would bring some of the mercenaries and the rest would come through the sea. The mercenaries would not bring the arms along. They would come from Guinea Bissau to Bulongo, pass through Tamba Kunda, Kaolack, Barra and finally settle in Farafenni. This is what Ngor Secka Kukoi Samba Sanyang told me. What they will do in Farafenni I don’t know. Where they would meet a boy called Ebrima Marreh,” he testified.

The witness said that the alleged was supposed to take on tobaski day 2009 and that’s why they called it black Friday. He said that attack would be done simultaneously including State House and other military barracks across The Gambia.

He said when he was coming to The Gambia, Ngor Secka gave him a Guinean line so that if he arrived he can call Ngor back and gave him his Gambian line so that Ngor can pass that line to Lang Tombong and BO Badjie.

“I later got in touch with Lang and BO whiles in The Gambia and I visited the compound of BO Badjie with the help of Lang Tombong. My Gambian line was 3994440,” he revealed to the court. The witness said that he revealed the secrets of the alleged coup plotters because of the love for his country. He said because the mercenaries he trained are good and that they are capable of destroying The Gambia. His other training partners he said were two white men, Micheal Smiths an American and one Jamecel a French soldier whose grandparents are from Russia.

Under cross examination by one of the defense counsel Pap Cheyasin Secka, the witness told the court that he cannot remembered when he first met with Ngor Secka. But said that the training of the 300 mercenaries was to last for 45 days.

He also said that he cannot remember the time he met Ngor Secka and the beginning of the training. Adding that he did not have any permission from the authorities of Guinea Bissau to conduct military training on their soil and that they are not aware of the training.

Rui said the 300 mercenaries were staying in a bush called Bambadinga in Guinea Bissau and that their supply of food comes every Friday. When he was asked whether he has the pictures of the training ground, he said no.

Trial continues today at 10 am.