Heads of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) have frowned at President Yahya Jammeh’s plans to amalgamate the PIU with the Gambia National Army (GNA). They threaten to throw in their towel if the president remains adamant in implementing what they call “the senseless plan.”
Some people believe that the amalgamation of the gendarmerie and police was the beginning of former President Dawda Jawara’s troubles. Security experts say the amalgamation of the military and the PIU will easily get the job done in yanking out Jammeh fast.
“Jammeh is scared of the military that is why he wants to turn the PIU into soldiers overnight and arm them,” said a security expert. “He is simply digging his graveyard.”
The PIU chiefs see the fusion plan with pinch of salt. They are concerned about the resulting backlash. For instance, they are worried about escalation of “bad blood” between the military and the PIU. Above all, the military and the PIU have absolutely nothing in common.
The PIU chiefs have since been brainstorming on the amalgamation, wondering what might have triggered the plan. “We have chosen to become police officers and see no reason why we should become part of the military. The planned amalgamation cannot work; it is not a viable option,” PIU chiefs complain to our Banjul correspondent.
Meanwhile, the amalgamation has been put on hold until what our sources call some serious issues are ironed out.
Over the years, the PIU has proven to be one of the most effective brutal machine for Yahya Jammeh who wants to rule the Gambia with iron fist until the Angel of Death takes care of him. The unit is implicated in the beating of peaceful opposition protesters in April and May this year, resulting to the death of Ebrima Solo Krummah, the Vice Chairman of the UDP in Sandu Constituency. Some Gambians are debating whether any security unit that serves as Yahya Jammeh’s symbol of torture or mayhem is needed in a New Gambia.
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