Essa Faal told Ousman Sowe to answer questions ‘more’ directly as the duo come face to face for the first time.
Sowe has been the head of the National Intelligence Agency – referred to in government quarters are State Intelligence Service – since the Barrow government came to power.
Evidence before the TRRC suggests the NIA was the ground where nearly all of the human rights abuses and violations of the 22 years rule of former President Yahya Jammeh took place. Sowe worked at the institution for a very long time before becoming its director general.
He began his testimony before the TRRC on Wednesday morning with counsel Essa Faal accusing him of trying to just speak on ‘generalities’.
“You want to just dwell on generalities and avoid particularities. If we do it like that, this hearing would be very long and we would not achieve the objective,” Mr Faal told Sowe who was being questioned on the NIA being used by private persons to come after other people. Sowe had said he could speak on what were being generally said and not the specifics.
But Faal told him more: “These are notorious facts and it would not portray you in good light if you try to stray away from them or try to say them in very nuanced language.
“And your staff are to come and testify, you are setting the tone. Some of them may try to adopt your approach. That would not be helpful to this hearing.
“It would not give me pleasure to sit here to try to cross-examine you on issues that are definitely banal.You will be well advised to answer these questions more directly.”
