Ex-Fisheries Minister Yankuba Touray and  

Lt. M. A. Bah released

By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-In-Chief

Highly placed and unassailable military sources in Banjul report that the erstwhile Fisheries Minister and National Mobiliser of the ruling APRC party has been released Thursday afternoon following his arrest and detention at the Mile II Prisons last weekend.

However, in what could be described as a cruel twist of concomitant irony, one Lieutenant Modou Alieu Bah of Lamin village, Kombo North was also released Thursday afternoon. Lieutenant Bah was serving a ten-year jail sentence for concealment of information in the foiled March, 2006 coup led by Colonel Ndure Cham who now lives in Senegal.

A highly placed military source told The Gambia Echo moments ago from State House where President Jammeh was handing over Tobaski rams to a cross-section of the security officers that Lt. Bah’s release may be very bad for Colonel Lang Tombong Tamba because Bah was allegedly, a victim of the latter’s tricks.

According to my source, Lt. Modou Alieu Bah was the Accountant at the Army headquarters in Banjul and his close ties with both Colonel Cham and General Tombong were known to all within the military. Reveals our source, between 2005 and 2006, President Jammeh had secured funding for some projects and allegedly allocated close to $3000,0000.00 (three millions dollars)  to Colonel Cham and General Tamba to build two high schools at Siffoe and Mayok villages in the Western region. Colonel Tamba allegedly contracted his brother, one Bala Tamba of Seyjo, Cassamance through the Sahel Construction Firm to build both schools. Reveals our source, Bala Tamba who had political ambitions took the contract money and contested the district elections as Sous Prefet (French for district chief) but was badly beaten by his opponent. Bala then returned to The Gambia and instead of building the schools, he used parts of the funds to build an elaborate house for General Lang Tombong Tamba at Brusubi as a kickback.

However, according to our State House operative, President Jammeh believes that the $3M was not spent on those projects but was used to consult occult scientists (marabouts) by Colonel Cham and may be, General Tamba too and since Lt. Bah has been amnestied while Tamba is matriculating to the Mile II Prisons; our operative thinks it is ominous for Tamba. “I will not be surprised if Lt. Bah testifies against General Tamba in a future criminal trial” argues our operative.

Curiously, allegations are also rife that a Senegalese disc jockey (DJ) called Ida Patra may also be invited for questioning by the NIA following allegations that General Tamba may have allegedly given her thousands of US dollars during a performance in Banjul. Our source noted that the camaraderie and general chemistry between the DJ and Tamba was case for much speculation a while ago and it remains to be seen what the NIAs might get from the lady.   

In a related twist, as we went to press our State House operative Kissy Kissy Mansa reports that it is highly likely that the disgraced Kawsu Bombarde Camara may face criminal charges in the coming days and if convicted, he might spend the next ten years in jail.