Gambia's former Army Chief of Staff Lang Tombong Tamba. Will his dismissal and detention cause President Jammeh his seat?
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According to our sources, the deployment followed the dismissal of 20 more officers from the Gambian army. Residents in Brikama encountered armed military personnel as dusk set in on Saturday.
Gambia president, Yahya Jammeh has also sacked and now detains one of his trusted bodyguards, Ousman Gibba, alias 'Jola Morro'. Gibba hails from
Although one of the soldiers patrolling the streets of Brikama was quoted as saying their deployment was a precautionary measure to avert potential spillage of the current bombardment of rebel strongholds in Cassamance by Senegalese government, our sources say the president 'sensed' a coup in the making.
Whatever the truth is, it's all too clear the Gambian population is all too weary of the unending dismissal of public officials without genuine explanations. The military in particular, bears the brunt of the administration's lack of respect for human rights and laws of the country.
On Friday president Jammeh dismissed finance minister Abdou Kolley, trade minister Baboucarr Jallow and justice minister Marie Saine Firdaus. No reasons were given for their dismissal.
The country's former army chief, Lt Gen Lang Tombong Tamba and a handful of other senior officers stand accused of attempting to overthrow the government. They denied the charges when they appeared before a high court judge in Banjul on Friday, and have been remanded in custody.