By Lamin Njie
The army said today the decision to restore soldiers who were dismissed during the immediate past government among them convicted coupists was a goodwill gesture by the Barrow government.
Former commander of the Gambian army now presidential candidate of Gambia Action Party Lamin Bojang last week argued it was wrong to have people convicted of treason to be brought back into the army.
The Barrow government in 2017 okayed the return to the army of soldiers that were dismissed during former president Yahya Jammeh’s rule; among them were those convicted of the high crime of treason. Some scooped promotion once they landed back into the army.
The army today lashed out at Mr Bojang saying in a statement it is the president who has the right to “dismiss, retire and reinstate officers”.
The army said: “It might be instructive to state that Section 12 of the Gambia Armed Forces Act has vested the power to dismiss, retire and reinstate officers in the hands of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Gambia Armed Forces and this can only be exercised at his (President’s) discretion/directive.
“An example was the powers exercised in his (Brigadier General Bojang’s) case in 2012 when he was retired and redeployed to the Foreign Service by the former President. The decision to reinstate the dismissed members of the Armed Forces as well as other civil servants back into the civil service (ministries and government departments) was a goodwill gesture in line with policies of the new government in 2017.
“From the foregoing, it is evident that these powers are definitely not within the purview of the Armed Forces Command rather a power reserved for the President and the government of The Gambia.”
