Former head of the army’s coup involved disabling the airport and arresting those deemed essential, it has been revealed.
A group of Gambian army officers led by Colonel Ndure Cham attempted to overthrow former President Yahya Jammeh in March 2006 who was on a trip to Mauritania. The coup misfired and most of the perpetrators arrested.
The head of the military police at the time Wassa Camara explaining how the coup was planned told the TRRC: “That 1 Infantry Battalion were Captain Darboe is at… Darboe will be responsible for the airport. He will ensure that he bars all the flights from landing and taking off from The Gambia. He has to ensure that within 1 Infantry Battalion operation responsibility area, are secured and there shouldn’t be any intrusion in that area.
“That Guards Battalion should ensure stability and calmness within their area of responsibility. [That] like 1 Bn, they shouldn’t allow any intrusion in their aread of responsibility. That State Guard should be responsible for the seat of the government and that once the operation is accomplished without any orders coming from the operations commander, they should allow anybody to come into that place.
“The military police, [that is] I, should be responsible for the military police personnel to ensure that once the operation is accomplished that the needfuls are arrested, those that they deemed important people within our area of jurisdiction, who are essential for the operation should be arrested. He has mentioned Edward Singhatey to me. That he should be arrested.
“The specific task that was given to me was to go to the arts station at Abuko, that I should meet with one Mr Njie, he should give me the fuses to the communication lines and that should also bar all communications to and fro the country, both local and international.”
