Alhaji Ceesay and Ebou Jobe left the comforts of their successful American dreams to go set up a Computer company in their homeland, The Gambia. Unbeknownst to them, the environment that they left behind when they came to America to pursue higher education is far removed from the one that obtains when they decided to go back and participate in “national development”.
The Gambia by then had become toxic beyond repair – the state machinery is often used to settle personal scores and grudges, the Dictator running the country, Yahya Jammeh had encouraged a type of division never seen before, people get killed or tortured over the flimsiest reasons, disappearances had become a norm.
So when these St. Augustine’s High alums decided to cash their bank accounts, retirement accounts, and stocks to answer Yahya Jammeh’s call for nation building, they didn’t realize they were making a fatal error. They kissed their wives and kids a goodbye and boarded planes bound for Senegal, from where they proceeded to Banjul. Loaded with a lot of U.S dollars, they wasted no time in renting a nice apartment in an exclusive part of town and settling down to put their idea to work.
Growing up, Alhaji and Ebou were raised in a Gambia where people were trustworthy, one could have confidence in a gentleman’s agreement and handshake, people generally left their doors wide open throughout the day without any fear of break-ins, it was common for people to return money found on the streets to the rightful owner. They were naïve to think that was still the case when they returned, so were never suspicious when strange individuals walked around their neighborhood looking for any clues as to what they brought from the United States with them.
Information has been scanty as to how these two ended up at the feared National Intelligence Agency (NIA), but they somehow did. There has been information that the dollars that they brought attracted unwanted attention on them from a regime that wastes no time in conning innocent businessmen and even private individuals out of their hard earned money. This place, according to an unimpeachable source, was where the Junglers (Yahya Jammeh’s illegal security group known for its vicious brutality and killings of innocent people) picked them up in the middle of the night. Specifically, Sanna Manjang and Nuha Badjie were the two that came for them. They said they got directives from Yahya to transfer Alhaji and Ebou to the Maximum Security Wing of the Mile2 Prisons. Sanna and Nuha directed the driver to go towards Cape Point Junction by Sting Corner, from where they headed for Jeshwang.
What happened next has been the subject of speculation. Some believe they are still alive and being transferred from jail to jail, but some say they are killed and buried in one of the graves in the greater Banjul area. But what we can confirm, contrary to what Yahya Jammeh has been telling the world, is his regime definitely has these two. They should be decent enough to give answers to Alhaji and Ebou’s families as to what happened to them, or hand them back if they are still alive since they haven’t been charged with any crime.
