USA – August 11, 2015 – We the family members of the two missing Gambian US Citizens wish to issue this press release in response to recent statements made by a Gambian Diplomat Mr Samsudeen Sarr. He was responding to Susan Rice National Security adviser to the President of the United States of America. In a statement released by the White House Susan Rice, a former US Permanent Representative to the UN (and now advisor to President Obama) said, The United States is deeply concerned about credible reports of torture, suspicious disappearances – including two American citizens.
Mr Sarr in response to Ms Rice’s statement is quoted as follows “reports of the two missing Americans – Alhagie Ceesay and Ebou Jobe, is nothing but another dubious story fed to US authorities by the enemies of President Jammeh…”
We the families of Alhagie and Ebou, who have been living in agony, who feel the pain every day, are out to present further evidence to set the records straight. The kids who have celebrated 2 years without any knowledge of the whereabouts of their fathers will tell you this is not a story but daily reality as they continue to struggle through this nightmare. The sisters, brothers, cousins, friends and especially the moms and wives of Alhagie and Ebou, will tell you the pain, sadness, tears they have shed is not a dubious story but a reality they wished everyday was just a dream that they can wake up from.
The deputy chief of mission at the United Nation’s further went on to say “Nothing is more absurd than the arrest of foreign investors or prospective business partners going to The Gambia to perform positive work. Hundreds go there every year to invest without incidents…”
Alhagie and Ebou went to the Gambia to invest and contribute to The Gambia economy. The two had a lease agreement for the office space they rented while in The Gambia. Please find attached signed copies (by Ebou Jobe) of the Lease.
Mr Sarr said “There is no record of the two Americans at any of The West African nation’s entry points”.
Alhagie and Ebou left the US on May 14th and arrived in Dakar on May 15th (via SN Brussels UA # 237, Record Locator MV8Y39 – attached). Upon arrival in Dakar, they were told their bags did not make it and will be sent separately.
Their bags were sent through the airline Banjul Bird and the bags arrived on May 19 (see attached bag tags). The bags were collected the same day from the Yundum Airport.
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Based on credible eye witness accounts (which has already been reported to the U.S State Department and FBI), Alhagie & Ebou went to watch a concert on the night of June 22 2013 . On their way home from the event, their car was stopped and they were arrested, this was the last time they had any contacts with the outside world.
The families hold the Gambia Government fully responsible for the disappearance of the two as the NIA is a branch of the government and the two were last seen in their custody.
Mr Sarr went on to state that “Ms Rice appeared to fall for the same trick of talking about a situation that she is least familiar with.” He further went on to say “Susan Rice should realize that politics from thousands of miles away is not as near the same as politics in the United States”.
The family knows the US government is extremely familiar with this case. Ms Rice is very familiar with the politics of Africa as her initial work in peace keeping took her to Rwanda and later as a senior Director to African Missions. She was later the top African diplomat during the East African bombings.We hope that if Mr Sarr was not familiar with this case before that he will now be.
The family is not the least surprised that such statements are coming from The Gambian diplomat Mr Sarr, based on his credibility.
Mr Sarr authored a book titled COUP D’ETAT in which he narrated in an explicit way how he was being tortured at Mile Two in the mid-nineties. He recently retracted accounts of his book, stating that he fabricated stories against the government of President Jammeh.
To Mr Sarr his life may be full of stories and therefore everything around him is fiction. For the Ceesay and Jobe Family, this is reality with human lives involved. This is not a chapter in the COUP D’ETAT Novel.
We are hopeful that The Government of the Gambia will release Alhagie and Ebou just like they have recently released many prisoners, so that their young kids will be able to spend their next birthdays with their fathers.
Contact:
oceesay
