By Lamin Njie

Ferry service at the Banjul ferry terminal was disrupted on Wednesday after a heavy duty truck plunged into the water following a ramp mishap.

Chaos erupted Wednesday afternoon after a truck conveying goods plunged into the water after it tried to leave the ferry through the ramp.

A Gambia Ports Authority ferry service official told The Fatu Network the incident wasn’t as serious as many had reported.

“The driver was asked to wait but he climbed the ramp when the man in charge of pulling the ramp down had asked him to wait,” the official said.

She added: “We later used another truck to pull the submerged truck out after which the ramp returned to its normal state. It wasn’t that serious.”

By Lamin Njie

The man who served Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara for 13 years as minister of forestry and later agriculture has fondly recalled the former president who died on Tuesday as a someone who was ‘very tolerant and accommodating.’

Omar Jallow alias OJ started working for Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara in 1981 when then President Jawara appointed him as minister of water resources, forestry and environment. After eight years in the role, OJ was appointed as minister of agriculture. He stayed in the role until 1994.

Former president Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara died on Tuesday at his home in Fajara at the age of 95, bringing the curtain down on a well-lived life.

Speaking in an exclusive interview at the Banjul International Airport moments after returning to The Gambia from the United Kingdom on Wednesday, OJ said ‘my relationship with him (Sir Dawda) is a father-son relationship’.

“Because Sir Dawda was one person whom I have realised have some values that is rare in leadership in Africa. He was very tolerant, very accommodating and very accessible. And he listens to people and people’s opinion and respects people’s values and people’s feelings and people’s beliefs,” Mr Jallow said.

The death on Tuesday of former President Jawara has seen a whole country rallying to honour a man credited for his major role in the independence effort and later the enviable position of The Gambia as one of the few parliamentary democracies in the 1960s and 1970s.

President Adama Barrow praised the former president on Tuesday describing him as ‘a great man.’

“The demise of Sir Dawda is a big loss to Gambia and it’s a big loss to the entire African continent. He was a great man. He was a pan-African, a big politician,” Mr Barrow told journalists shortly after meeting with the family of the former president.

Phoday Saikouba Jarjusey told The Fatu Network on Wednesday the passing of Sir Dawda is the ‘end of an era in terms of Gambian political life.’

“He got this holistic approach to public administration and management. I have worked closely with him. All I can say about Sir Dawda was [he] was a human being through and through,” Mr Jarjusey who worked with Jawara in the same office for eleven and a half years said.

Yahya Ceesay, a man who was with Jawara during the independence struggle and later went on to serve him in various capacities including minister in a period that spanned nearly 30 years described Jawara as ‘so intelligent.’

“He is an example to Africa. Because when he was taking the independence what people were saying was that the country was too small, that he cannot manage Gambia as an independent country. He said he would and he did,” Mr Ceesay told journalists on Tuesday at the former president’s house.

By Momodou Justice Darboe

A lower court in Serekunda on Tuesday ordered the remand in custody at the State Central Prisons in Banjul of all the 37 Gambian youths and nationals of other countries in the sub-region implicated in last month’s mass protests in Serekunda.

Thirty-four out of the 37 youths today appeared at the Kanifing Magistrates Court amidst heavy police presence but they could not enter their plea when an application was made by the prosecution for the matter to be transferred to the high court in Banjul as some of the indictments on the charge-sheet attract life imprisonment.

The accused persons, including three Senegalese, two Guineans and three Sierra Leoneans are charged with various offences including arson, causing panic to other members of the public, unlawful and riotous assembly, disruption of traffic and damage to property.

The charges are linked to the July 24 demonstrations in which youths descended onto the streets to protest the death of Ousman Darboe, a 33-year-old market vendor, who they say, died as a result of a torture meted out to him by members of the Anti-Crime Unit of the Gambia Police Force. Some of them congregated at the Serekunda police station before embarking on a five-kilometre trek to the Anti-Crime Headquarters in Bijilo where they were engaged in running battles with the police. Troops from the West African regional peace-keeping mission in The Gambia were deployed alongside soldiers of the Gambian army to reinforce the already overwhelmed police at the Anti-Crimes Headquarters deployed to quell the disturbances.

On Tuesday, Supt. MD Mballow, representing the Inspector General of Police, told the Kanifing Magistrates Court that arson and demolishing building are capital offenses. He further argued that since capital offenses attract life-imprisonment,the case be transferred to the Special Division of the high court. He also sought for the remand in custody of all the suspects.

But in his preliminary objection, one of the lawyers representing the 36 out of the 37 youth, Patrick Gomez, prayed the court to strike out the counts of arson and demolishing a building from the charge-sheet instead of transferring the case to the high court. The defense counsel said the issue of the transfer of the matter to high court is not mandatory but discretional. The defense lawyer further argued that it was a deliberate act on the part of the police to include arson and other counts on the charge-sheet so as to cause a long detention of the suspects.

However the presiding magistrate, at this juncture, adjourned the matter to September 3 for reply on some of the issues raised.

A sprouting Senegalese singer has been blasted for dressing in female clothes during a concert.

Ouzin Keita was clad in female attires during a performance at a concert in Cices, Senegal at the weekend.

Mame Mactar Gueye, a religious activist in Senegal, speaking to Leral TV said the singer’s behavior was unacceptable and was a bad example for the youths of Senegal.

Gueye said his organization, ONG JAMRA, is preparing a tour at the level of religious families in Senegal to oppose the new lifestyle.

By Lamin Njie

Two top officials of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation national secretariat have resigned from their posts.

Lamin Sanneh and Nyang Njie resigned on Monday in a move that has shocked observers.

Lamin Sanneh who was the chief executive officer of the OIC national secretariat confirmed his resignation to The Fatu Network on Monday. He quit alongside one of his right hand men Nyang Njie who was the secretariat’s head of communication and branding.

Meanwhile The Fatu Network has been told the two men quit in protest of the appointment by President Adama Barrow of Yankuba Dibba as deputy CEO. Dibba was reportedly appointed to the role last week. The Fatu Network could not immediately verify the appointment of Dibba as deputy CEO as well as the claim the two men resigned over his appointment.

The OIC national secretariat is the body entrusted with the responsibility of putting all necessary structures in place for the 2022 OIC summit in The Gambia but the esecretariat has endured a significant share of political interference in the past.

In January of this year, President Adama Barrow sacked UDP’s Almami Taal who was serving as legal adviser to the secretariat.

Madi Jobarteh has branded Yankuba Sonko as someone who willingly aided and abetted dictatorship in The Gambia.

Yankuba Sonko has been appointed as the new interior minister of The Gambia by President Adama Barrow following his last week’s sacking of Ebrima Mballow.

In a long open letter to the former police chief titled, ‘Serve Your People According to the Constitution and Your Conscience,’ outspoken activist Madi Jobarteh said: “Your appointment as the Minister of Interior has come at a significant juncture in the history of the Gambia hence the decisions and actions you make in your new portfolio henceforth will determine not only the peace and stability of our dear motherland but also of your own fate as a son of this land. Needless to remind you that the Gambia emerged out of a brutal dictatorship of 22 years to usher in a new dispensation on 17 January 2017 with high expectations for a new environment for democracy and good governance. We did not only change that authoritarian regime for its own sake, but more importantly we did so with the intention to bring about a true system change in which abuse of power and violations of human rights will end in this country.

“In this regard what is expected of the Ministry of Interior and its allied agencies is to adhere to the rule of law to protect fundamental rights and freedoms in order to enable Gambians to hold the State accountable. It is when citizens are able to hold the State accountable that we could combat and reduce if not eradicate corruption and abuse of power, ensure efficient, effective and quality delivery of public services and guarantee prosperity in peace and calm in the country. I would expect and strongly advise that you understand your position as the Minister of Interior from this perspective and perform your duties accordingly.

“As you assume your new position it is necessary to remind you that you had been a longstanding career law enforcement officer who rose through the ranks to become the head of the Gambia Police Force at various times. You first served as IGP between March 2010 and November 2014 and your second tenure spanned from July 2015 to June 2017. This indicates that you are indeed one of the longest serving IGPs in the history of the Gambia Police Force. Most of your tenure was served under the brutal Dictatorship of Yaya Jammeh.

“Under your tenure there were several abuses of human rights perpetrated by the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) including the brutal crackdown on the 14 April 2016 Protest led by Solo Sandeng and compatriots. Your officers mercilessly assaulted them during arrest and handed them over to the NIA where Solo Sandeng was beaten to death with many more raped and tortured. The country continues to count the casualties of that incident as many of the victims have either died or continue to live in physical and psychological pain until today.

“You were also the IGP when on 16 April 2016 your men with arms clamped down on the protest led by Lawyer Ousainou Darboe and his party members when they sought to obtain the body of their colleague Solo Sandeng. Once again under your watch your men used utter violence and brute force to mercilessly beat senior citizens, women and youths for merely exercising their right to freedom of assembly as guaranteed by the Constitution. Furthermore, on 26 December 2016 you issued a directive warning citizens to seek a permit before they embark on a convoy. This directive was purposely intended to limit the right of Gambians to freely assemble and hold Yaya Jammeh to account for refusing to step down when he rejected the election results. Your directive was meant only to protect the Dictator.

“Therefore, what is distinguishable in your career Mr. Sonko is that you have comfortably, vigorously and willingly aided and abetted dictatorship in the Gambia. Now that you are appointed the Minister of Interior it is necessary that I write to you to put it to you that you are only a Public Servant whose legitimacy and authority is derived from the people. Section 1 of our Constitution clearly stipulates that the sovereignty of the Gambia resides in the people and all State institutions derive their legitimacy from the people and that these public institutions serve only on behalf of and for the welfare of the people. This is the scope and purpose of your position as the Minister of Interior that you must always remember.

“In this regard I wish to therefore urge you to ensure that your Ministry and all of its agencies place themselves on the path of the Constitution to uphold the rule of law and protect fundamental rights and freedoms. This is non-negotiable and history will judge how well or not you perform this sacred national duty. I wish to therefore call on you to ensure the urgent reform of the institutions under your purview such as the Gambia Police Force, the Gambia Prisons Services, the Gambia Immigration Department and the Gambia Fire and Ambulance Services.

“Your greatest contribution can only come from effecting system change by first and foremost reforming the legal and institutional frameworks of these agencies and building their human capacity to empower them to protect human rights. These institutions are indeed human rights protection institutions which makes your Ministry the leading human rights protection mechanism of the Gambia Government. Sadly, the Ministry of Interior and its satellite institutions have been notorious for abuse of human rights and it is now your unique opportunity to transform these institutions into true human rights protection institutions.

“To enable you to do this task successfully, I wish to advise that you review the reports of the Commission of Inquiry of the April 10 and 11 Incident as well as the 2018 Faraba Commission in order to implement their recommendations. In both reports, it has been unequivocally stated that police officers especially the PIU officers are notorious for torture, beatings and other forms of violence against citizens. For that matter the Faraba Commission went further to recommend that, ‘It is important that current personnel of the PIU officers are vetted and screened and those found to have been involved in torture and human rights abuses are removed from the Police Force.’

“Therefore, I would urge you to do just that in order to cleanse the Gambia Police Force off of torturers and police brutality. Talking about police brutality brings to the fore the urgent need to review and restructure the Anti-Crime Unit. In November 2018 I wrote a private letter to the IGP to demand an investigation and reform of the Anti-Crime Unit given the numerous allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by its officers. Until today I did not receive any response from the IGP while the Unit continues to be a subject of massive controversy due to its use of excessive force most of the time. I need not remind you that the head of this Unit Gorgui Mboob is in fact mentioned in the April 10 and 11 Commission Report as one of the officers who engaged in human rights violations at the time. Hence the need to reform this unit cannot be overemphasised.

“Mr. Sonko I will state it abundantly clear that I am neither excited nor hopeful by your appointment simply because of your abysmal track record as a career police officer. At this moment I have no trust and confidence in you because you have been a Public Servant who has perpetrated human rights abuses against our people. Under your leadership as IGP, you have failed to stand up to protect rights and uphold the rule of law but rather allowed the sovereign rights of Gambians to be trampled upon by your officers with impunity.

“For that matter if you wish to regain my trust and confidence then you would have to renew yourself by rededicating yourself to the reform of the law enforcement agencies immediately to enhance the protection of human rights. In this regard it is necessary to therefore focus on one particular right for your urgent attention. This is the right to freedom of assembly. This right is guaranteed by our Constitution. The Constitution provides that the right to demonstrate can only be restricted or limited but it cannot be denied.

“Unfortunately, all Gambian IGPs including yourself are notorious for denying Gambians the right to freedom of assembly by relying on the Public Order Act. One of those instances was when in 2010 you denied UDP to hold a political rally claiming security concerns. Let me inform you that even when the Pubic Order Act requires citizens to request a permit before embarking on a procession or use a public address system during a demonstration, you must bear in mind that ultimately the IGP must not undermine popular participation, accountability and democracy. In all of the instances in which Gambians have been denied a permit to protest there has been no incontrovertible evidence that violence would erupt. Hence the decisions by yourself and other IGPs was not based on any professional and scientific evidence. Rather your decisions have been based on political considerations in the interest of the President at the time. You must ensure that this malpractice stops immediately.

“I wish to state that indeed the intention of the Public Order Act is to allow protests to take place. That is, the Act is in favour of citizens to enjoy this right insofar as there will be no violence. For that matter it is also the duty of the IGP to make sure even if there will be violence it is contained by deploying police officers to protect the protest and both those who are part of it and those who are not part of it or counter it. This is the perspective from which the Public Order Act should be viewed and enforced.

“Therefore even though the Act empowers the IGP to deny a permit this must be the exception and not the rule as has been the case for the past 22 years! Unfortunately, the Gambia Police Force rather makes denial the rule and the norm while making the granting of permits the exception. This was why yourself and other IGPs have most of the time denied citizens a permit. This means in practice these IGPs including yourself have been major obstacles to the growth of democracy and good governance in the Gambia.

“Now is the time Mr. Sonko for you to therefore resurrect yourself and begin to establish a new and honourable legacy. Make sure that your IGP is under no political control and influence from State House in deciding what rights Gambians can enjoy or not. Make sure that the IGP and yourself are driven by only your conscience and the national interest in line with the Constitution to protect the rights of Gambians.

“Recognise that Gambians have a right to protest against the Government even if every day. Your role must be to ensure that this right is protected. During protests those who burn, loot, damage or throw stones must be arrested and prosecuted. You must not use the excuse of violent behaviour by some people to deny all Gambians their right to freedom of assembly. Stand against torture and corruption within your law enforcement agencies and insist on absolute adherence to the rule of law at all times.

“Let me also remind you that as a member of Cabinet, you bear equal responsibility for any decision made by the Cabinet and the President. Therefore, be a good public servant and advise your Cabinet colleagues and the President Adama Barrow that he must respect and protect the rights of Gambians even if those Gambians wish to criticise or protest against him.

“You have failed woefully over the years to stand up to defend the Constitution and the rule of law and the human rights of Gambians. Therefore, your recent appointment is now your unique opportunity to stand up, for the first time in your life, for the defence of the Constitution, the rule of law and protect human rights.

“I wish to assure you that so long as you stand to defend the Constitution and adhere to the rule of law and protect the rights of Gambians, I will bring back my trust and confidence in you and stand to defend you. At the same time so long as you continue to abuse our Constitution and disregard the rule of law and allow the violation of the rights of citizens by the agencies under your purview, rest assured of my continued opposition and condemnation of your actions and decisions.

“In conclusion, let me highlight to you Mr. Sonko that the Gambia is your motherland and by any moral, religious, legal and political standards you must serve none other than the Gambia and her people. No elected official from the President to the Mayor and indeed no citizen should be worthy enough for you to abuse the rights and dignity of your fellow citizens. It is already an invaluable honour and privilege to be appointed a Minister purposely to serve your people. Therefore, cherish that sacred duty and serve your people well than to allow your fellow human being to make you a pawn to abuse your fellow human beings. No position, no fame and indeed no material gains should make you sell your soul to your fellow human being. For far too long you have served the selfish interest of only one or few elected public officials to the detriment of your people. Let this appointment today be that unique opportunity to resurrect yourself and place yourself on the path to defend your own people and their Constitution. The ball is in your court.”

By Lamin Njie

Interim leader of opposition APRC Fabakary Tombong Jatta has said his party will play the role of referee in the three years row.

President Adama Barrow is facing the biggest threat to his rule so far following the emergence of a political movement that has threatened to force him to step down in December.

Operation Three Years Jotna Movement has said it will not allow President Barrow to backtrack on his promise of being in office for only three years. But the president has vowed he will remain in office until 2021 ‘whether one likes it or not.’

Opposition APRC on Saturday held a rally in Latrikunda German where the party’s interim leader spoke on the issue saying ‘we don’t have time on the issue of three years.’

Fabakary Tombong Jatta: “When they were talking about three years and talking about free visa they were not telling APRC people. They were only telling their people. So let them thrash it out themselves. They will not bother us with it.

“But we all own this country. We are the referee. We have the whistle. Someone said it here that APRC is golden that if we do not join forces with anyone who will not succeed. What we are saying as APRC is that we are not a part of this three years or five years. But we are Gambians and we will not allow Gambia get destroyed.

“When it is time and after the push and pull we will decide on where the truth is, what our interest is and the interest of Gambians and we then blow the whistle and say whether it is right or left and wherever we point to is where we will all head to. And wherever we join shall triumph. If we believe that three years will not work it shall end that day but if we believe that it is the right thing Barrow will leave power that day.”

By Lamin Njie

Police in The Gambia said Monday three people are in their custody on suspicion of fraudulently helping a man hold Gambian diplomatic passport.

A man was reportedly travelling with a Gambian diplomatic passport only to get quizzed by police as to how he got the passport. The man whose name is yet to be released, told police he got it through some officials of the ministry of foreign affairs after paying them over D200,000.

Police spokesman Lamin Njie confirmed the arrest of three people on Monday telling The Fatu Network two of the suspects are protocol officers at the ministry of foreign affairs.

“A JP (Justice of Peace) has also been arrested. They are all in custody helping the police in their investigation,” Njie added.

The ministry of foreign affairs said on Sunday three of its officials are involved. Two were arrested on Friday while a third suspect ‘left the country about a forthnight ago.’

Meanwhile, a source has told The Fatu Network all three officials started working at the ministry when Ousainou Darboe became foreign minister in 2017.

Nations around the world moved Thursday to protect giraffes as an endangered species for the first time, drawing praise from conservationists and scowls from some sub-Saharan African nations.

Thursday’s vote by a key committee at the World Wildlife Conference known as CITES paves the way for the measure’s likely approval by its plenary next week.

The plan would regulate world trade in giraffe parts, including hides, bone carvings and meat, while stopping short of a full ban. It passed 106-21 with seven abstentions.

‘So many people are so familiar with giraffes that they think they’re abundant,’ said Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society. ‘And in Southern Africa, they may be doing OK, but giraffes are critically endangered.’

Lieberman said giraffes were particularly at risk in parts of West, Central and East Africa.

The Wildlife Conservation Society said it was concerned about the multiple threats to giraffes that have already resulted in population decline, citing habitat loss, droughts worsened by climate change and the illegal killings and trade in giraffe body parts.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, hailed the move, noting that giraffes are a vulnerable species facing habitat loss and population decline.

A key African conservationist said it could help reverse drops in giraffe populations, as the move would help better track numbers of giraffes.

‘The giraffe has experienced over 40% decline in the last 30 years, said Maina Philip Muruthi of the African Wildlife Foundation. ‘If that trend continues, it means that we are headed toward extinction.’

Still, not all African countries supported the move.

‘We see no reason as to why we should support this decision, because Tanzania has a stable and increasing population of giraffes,’ said Maurus Msuha, director of wildlife at the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

‘Over 50% of our giraffe population is within the Serengeti ecosystem, which is well protected. Why should we then go for this?’

CITES says the population of wild giraffes is actually much smaller than that of wild African elephants.

‘We’re talking about a few tens of thousands of giraffes and we’re talking about a few hundreds of thousands of African elephants,’ said Tom De Meulenaar, chief of scientific services at CITES.

He said the convention was intended to specifically address the international trade in giraffes and their parts.

‘With fewer giraffes than elephants in Africa, it was a no-brainer to simply regulate giraffe exports,’ said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

The U.S. is the world’s biggest consumer of giraffe products, conservationists said. Sanerib said it was important for the U.S. to act on its own as well.

‘It’s still urgent for the Trump administration to protect these imperiled animals under the U.S. Endangered Species Act,’ she said in a statement.

The meeting in Geneva comes after President Donald Trump’s administration last week announced plans to water down the U.S. Endangered Species Ac – a message that could echo among attendees at the CITES conference, even if the U.S. move is more about domestic policy than international trade. (Associated Press)

By Lamin Njie

Majority of Gambians trust the Gambia Armed Forces and believe the military protects citizens from external and internal security threats, a new study has said.

Pan African research institution Afrobarometer in a new report titled, ‘Gambians Trust the Armed Forces But are Split over the Presence of ECOMIG,’ said popular trust in the Gambia Armed Forces was strongest in Central River Region (South), with a trust level of up to 71 percent. At least 1,200 adult Gambians were interviewed in a survey that was conducted between July and August of last year.

Sait Matty Jaw, the lead researcher, told The Fatu Network: “The objective is to give public a voice in policy making by providing high quality public opinion data to policy makers and other interested stakeholders.”

He added: “Since Jammeh’s defeat in the 2016 elections, the military has returned to its barracks, arrested so-called “jungulars” accused of extra-judicial killings and torture under orders from Jammeh, reinstated some members of the army who had been dismissed under Jammeh, and sought to establish its independence from political control.

“The army has also made efforts to strengthen civil-military relations in the country particularly its relationship with the media fraternity resulting to timely and accurate news dispatch resulting to less negative coverage as compared to the past.”

Afrobarometer directs a pan-African, nonpartisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues in African countries. Seven rounds of surveys were completed in up to 38 countries between 1999 and 2018. Round 8 surveys in 2019/2020 are planned in at least 35 countries.

Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples. The Afrobarometer team in the Gambia, led by the Centre for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass), interviewed 1,200 adult Gambians in July and August 2018.

By Momodou Justice Darboe

Ali Cham aka Killa Ace has told The Fatu Network that his rights were violated when an order was allegedly issued by the police for his detention incommunicado.

The rapper-activist said though he was not physically abused by the police during his over 48-hour detention, he felt emotionally tortured by been allegedly locked up in a mosquito-infested, tiny cell with a number of other detainees.

He adds that his father was also denied him access as Anti-Crime Unit of the police allegedly ordered for his incommunicado detention at the Kairaba police station, explaining that the same order was also given when he was escorted to the police in Banjul under armed escort.

Killa Ace was among the dozen youth, who were rounded up by the police, on suspicion of partaking in protests over alleged police brutality following the reported torture to death of a 33-year-old Sierra Leonean market vendor, allegedly by members of the Anti-Crime Unit of the Gambia Police Force.

While Killa Ace is yet to be charged with any offense, some of the youths with whom he was arrested, have since been charged with various offences, among them, willful damage to property.

Meanwhile Ace has insisted that there is no love lost between him and the police, elucidating that he only harbours disdain and disgust for those police he called bad cops.

“I just want to ask the police about what beef I have with them. I have no beef with the police. My only beef with the police is the bad police,” Ace told The Fatu Network.

According to him, his denunciation of the police began when he was sometime ago arrested by the Anti-Crime Unit.

“I was locked up with other youths. Instead of been shown compassion and love, they were beaten, worked, abused and had no access to their families.

“As a victim of police brutality and the fact that we fought hard against all these ills, I don’t want the repeat of the past,” he said.

Ace is of the conviction that his friction with the police is part of a broader plan by the powers that be to silence dissenting voices.

“They want me to be quiet. They don’t want me to talk about the violations of the rights of Gambians. It is a political problem in which they want to silence voices of defiance. The government want to silence dissenting voices,” he argued.

By Momodou Justice Darboe

At least 40 people were Thursday summoned at the police anti-crime unit headquarters in Bijilo for an identification parade in connection with July mass protests over the death of a 33-year-old Sierra Leonean national allegedly by the police, The Fatu Network has been told.

It would be recalled that mass protests erupted last month in some parts of the country’s largest city of Serekunda over the death of a Sierra Leonean youth allegedly as a result of police brutality.

The protesters, most of whom were youths, congregated at the Serekunda police station before embarking on a nearly five-kilometre trek to the Anti-Crime Unit Headquarters in Bijilo where they were involved in running battles with the police.

A reliable source has Thursday disclosed to this medium that almost all the youths that were summoned by the crime unit for identification purposes have been linked to one alleged offense or another in relation to the July protests.

“More than 40 youths were today paraded before investigators at the Anti-Crime Headquarters and virtually all of them have been said to be identified with the demonstrations,” the source added.

The police last week arrested a dozen youths and subsequently charged them with willful damage to property among other indictments. They were released on bail but were reporting to the police every other day at the time of writing this story.