By Omar Wally
The Chief of Defense Staff of The Gambia Armed Forces, Lt Gen Masanneh Kinteh, has reiterated that Generals Umpa Mendy and Ansumana Tamba are not a security threat.
Umpa Mendy, former principal protection officer of ex-president Yahya Jammeh and Ansumana Tamba former State Guards Commander were arrested by Military Police on Sunday afternoon. The two men left the country with ex-president Jammeh last year and returned to the Gambia exactly one year.
General Kinteh said the two were invited which is part of military procedures.
‘When someone leaves The Armed Forces for some time and are not disengaged, when they are back into the country after sometimes, they are invited for debriefing. It is a normal procedure’.
General Kinteh said two men have been arrested on Sunday and they have just commenced investigations.
‘We have not seen anything pointing towards the fact that they could be security risks or anything to the contrary.’
Gen Kinteh: Gambia is safe; it’s one of the safest places in the sub-region. ‘We have our vulnerabilities and challenges when it comes to the current security trend in entire West African sub-region.’
He continued ‘There is nothing peculiar to our situation; I can assure that Gambia is safe and life goes on normally.’ He added that Gambia Armed Forces has taken some measures in ensuring that any lapse they have with the security environment is reinforced and they are on top of things.
‘We have our challenges, but we have taken measures and will continue to revisit our systems and processes to ensure that we put things in place that is going to keep everybody safe in Gambia.’
