By Lamin Njie
The nation’s top corrections officer Ansumana Manneh has told the TRRC his predecessor was engaged in tribalism and nepotism.
“It was not just tribalism but nepotism since it’s his relatives that were closest to him, they were the people in his kingdom. His immediate deputy was the former deputy director Modou Jarju,” Mr Manneh who made it very clear he doesn’t like talking about the issue of tribalism told the probe on Monday.
The GPS chief is the first person to testify before the TRRC after the investigation was forced to abandon its public hearings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
His testimony centred around the country’s prisons – as they were allegedly used by the former president to punish political opponents.
According to Manneh, former President Yahya Jammeh called Mile Two prisons his ‘five-star’ hotel.
“It was no secret, it was in the media,” he said.
Manneh has extensive knowledge as a prison officer but faced unjust treatment which saw him shipped out to the ministry of interior. The Barrow government takeover found him at interior.
“I was not responsible for anything regarding prisons there [at interior]. It was a ploy to push me out,” he told the TRRC.
