It was the darkest day in the history of my Central River Region village of Sami. As soon as he arrived at the village “bantaba”, Major Momodou Bojang disrespectfully raised his foot and placed it on the village bantaba, vowing to deal with any villager who opposed the military junta turned civilian leader Captain Yahya Jammeh. Bojang came with soldiers from the Kudang Barracks. This was sometime in 1996 when a ban on politics was lifted. Under the instruction of Yahya Jammeh and under direct supervision of Commissioner Bojang, armed soldiers arrogantly and rudely arrested and subsequent tortured some elderly villagers, including the late 80-year-old Alkalo Bakey Ceesay at the Janjanbureh prisons. Their only crime was that they were sympathizers of the opposition United Democratic Party, something unacceptable to Yahya Jammeh and Momodou Bojang. These arrestees were ruthlessly and sadistically tortured. Upon his release, the old man died few days later mainly because he could not sustain the torture, pains and humiliation meted out to him by then powerful Commissioner Momodou Bojang in front of his villagers. He was a great man. A noble man and a great hunter. He died a dignified man while Major Momodou lives peacefully in exile in Wisconsin, United States. The torturer soldiers are also living in peace parambulating on the streets in the Gambia.
I had a special chat with my dad while on holiday. It was painful to listen to him as he explained his ordeal. For the first time I could see fear, anger and resignation written on his face when he talked about the mistreatment of Commissioner Momodou Bojang. I tried to console him to let by-gones be by-gones and avoid anything that weakens his strength. But he repeatedly complained about the inhumane arrest, detention and torture of Alkalo Ceesay.
Like most Gambians, I must admit that I too at the time supported the junta. I later realised how naive I was.
What more could I offered my dad other than appealing to him to keep away from politics entirely. But years down the line I realise that these people are the real heroes who understand the Gambia’s political landscape more than me. As the arrests and tortures continue over the years, I becomes common knowledge that we have a demon at the highest office. I started to speak out against Jammeh’s lawlessness and brutality.
My message to the former Commissioner Bojang is to come out of his current comfort zone in Wisconsin and apologise to the villagers of Sami for wrongdoing them by beating their elders for merely exercising their political rights. He should offer special apology to the family of the late Alkalo. Despite abusing the powers of your position to rain insults on our elders, the people of Sami will find place in their hearts to forgive you when you apologise for your wrongdoing.
In conclusion, we look forward to seeing again our my village. This time around on an apology mission.
By A Concerned native of Sami
Ends
Why the Sami diaspora living in the US remain dormant and condoning this man within their midst in the US, is itself quite baffling to me. Can’t you people get together and use an opportunity to humiliate him? I fear we will continue such pathetic behaviour in regards to people who have killed our own parents or relatives. We must set an example, so that all these thugs a la Bojang , Ousman Sonko, Sanna Sabally, Edward Singhateh etc, do not have safe heavens to nurse their untold crimes against our people. We must be quite harsh with these thugs and stop asking them to repent. Justice for the wrongs committed must be resurrected first. Being apologetic to such people is the last thing we need.
Momodou bojang was a very rude man while ccommissioner of janjanbureh. He lacked home training.
I was armitage then and he was totally rude, a womanizer and arrogant. He is a big disgrace and hope some day, he and his likes burn in he’ll for How he treated people in crd then.
That idiot owes a lot of apology to people. Maybe he owes it to his entire extended family itself from claims he has called them to a general fall in, wielding a pistol in his hand shouting,’all nonesense have come to an end’, as cousin brothers, uncles, etc., watched on his exhibition of bitterness, ignorance and dumb arrogance.
Whether the latter is true or not, I have learnt from folks abroad that then, you need a good look at his picture so you don’t miss him in his heavy dark glasses inside his Nissan Patrol or whatever, because not giving him enough space on the way can land you in real good trouble. If Gambia had that geopolitical prominence, Bojang might have been invited for an interview in some local tv in around Wisconson and Sabally interviewed in another tv around his neighbourhood in Germany.
Momodou Bojang, Sanna Sabally, Ousman Sonko and the likes are merely having their too-late-lessons in democracy. U.S won’t hasitate to extradite them to anywhere the competent international courts may need them. They have seen what democracy means living in those asylum host countries and now for sure, they wish they were not accomplices to a state’s terror of ordinary citizens of equal statuses and rights simply because those citizens hold a different opinion in the Gambia’s national affairs.
Keep the quiet after wrongdoing to others, especially in the public space, is a norm in the Gambia. This is the type of attitude that demonstrates how noble and brave one is. Who knows the harp man has insinuated that in his ‘tunes’ that says about his type of great men….
This is what real men representing others can do when they commit crimes against those they represent; I here by confess that, i committed so and so crimes and I am hereby ready to testify and provide evidence to those crimes committed by the state, I might be aware of during my service for the regime. The is the best way they can be a part of paving a clean way for the Gambia’s generations to come. Bojang won’t think like this at all. He is thinking that God is on his side for he still prevails to be gallant with an U.S asylum status. You don’t want to get irrelevant trying to figure out all because sayings of philosophers are capable of making a Momodou Bojang or Sanna Sabally portrait of you yourself expressing your digust of such people.
Not only the Sami citizens should get up and deal with Momodou Bojang but all Gambians who care about justice in the country. The man is a punk and a arrogant beast who deserve no peace in his life.
I am sad that these brutal events occurred. Momodou Bojang and many others should face justice. Mr. Juwara’s testimony at the TRRC 2019 make me cry.
Am totally with you guys. they should all dance to their tunes. whoever forgive these people remember History will never forgive that particular person and if any regime allow them to get away with this immoral conducts, then they will be deem as bias and betrayal to its citizens. The regime should set good example to these devils who called themselves humans.Just to name few Yaya Jammeh, Edward Singhateh, Saul Badgie, Yankuba Touray, Sanna Sabally, Yankuba Colley, Seedy Njie, Fabakary Tombong and many more.If the government fail to penalize them we will revenge, that is the bitter fact.