By Lamin Njie, Editor in Chief
Fate and luck work in funny ways. If you doubt this then enter Sergeant Kaddy Jarju.
When police chief Mamour Jobe asked that he wanted to see then-Corporal Kaddy Jarju at his office in Banjul, the policewoman thought she was in trouble. Not knowing she was walking right to her success.
“Initially when I was told I was on the internet, I was not happy, I felt scared. I thought maybe I did something wrong,” Kaddy, 34, tells The Fatu Network as she on Thursday received D250,000 in money given to her by Gambians after her traffic heroics.
Newly promoted police sergeant, Kaddy Jarju, has since last week Thursday been drawing admiration from Gambians after a photo of her emerged online showing her directing traffic as the rain lashed her.
“It was raining heavily that day. The traffic was congested and cars were not moving. Everywhere was blocked. So I knew it was my job, no one would come and do it. I then took off my shoes, rolled my trousers to my knee and then got into the water to do my job,” the mother-of-three tells The Fatu Network.
Kaddy performed the heroic act at the busy Westfield. A passing Gambian took a photo of her without her ever knowing it.
“I all of a sudden saw myself online. I don’t use the internet and this happened on Thursday. I only knew about it on Saturday,” she says.
She adds: “It was Neneh Bojang, police officer at police headquarters in Banjul who called me and asked if I was the one in traffic on Thursday. She told me she saw Whats-On Gambia share my photo.
“I asked her if all was well, she said ‘yes, it’s okay’.
“I then said to her ‘okay, no problem’.”
Kaddy then got another call but this time the man she works under.
“Then later Commissioner King Colley also called me and said, ‘Kaddy’ I said ‘yes’. He then asked ‘where are you?’ I told him I was home. He then told me, ‘come on Monday and we would go and answer to IG,” she says.
On Monday July 20, Kaddy dressed herself in her normal traffic uniform and went to the Police Mobile Traffic Unit in Kanifing to see her boss.
“My commissioner (King Colley) took his car and drove me to Banjul,” Kaddy says.
“We went straight to police headquarters and directly to the Inspector General’s office. IG then told me he has promoted me to the rank of sergeant.”
Kaddy is struggling to come to terms with all that has happened to her in the past days. She even made it to BBC. At home, everyone is proud of Kaddy.
“My neighbours feel very happy and on Monday when I was promoted, we threw a small dinner in the house,” she says.
Kaddy is glad be a member of the nation’s police force.
“I love my country and this is why I chose Gambia Police Force,” she tells The Fatu Network.
A gofundme set up for Kaddy by The Fatu Network CEO Fatu Camara generated D250,000 and was presented to her on Thursday.
“My first decision is to buy a compound,” she says happily of her plans with the money.
