Whether we agree or disagree, criminals know no human feelings, and are at all times bent on strategising to beat any system, no matter the level of sophistication. And what makes criminality so complicated is the high level of solidarity and support criminals render to one another. Criminals see one another as flesh and blood. Every government that is worth the salt endeavours to defeat criminals before they gain the upper hand which could ultimately spell doom for a country or even brings down a government. Any country that allows criminals and dirty hands within its ranks will one day pay a heavy price.
Any repeated act – good or bad – becomes an obsession that cannot be easily given up because of the heart desire the doer enjoys. Criminals don’t want to lose the heart desire that is why they commit senseless crimes – crimes they reap no benefit from. Criminals have passion or enjoy happiness when they commit crime. That is like their normal routine. Most criminals only become aware of exposing themselves to danger when they are caught.
Like any human, criminals too can be supported to become clean. That becomes hard when criminals have not dump not only the criminal act but their master and that right structures are not in place. This is exactly the case in the Gambia where the Coalition government inherited a criminal security sector that had been known for conspiring to arrest, detain, jail, torture or murder citizens. The system under Dictator Jammeh had become so rotten that any security agency would conduct police duties of arresting, questioning or detaining. A person arrested by one agency would find themselves transferred to sister agencies. Ironically, no agency takes the blame for anything because “the order comes from the Top.” The Top, of course, is the Guinea Equatorial chief asylee in the person of Yahya Jammeh, the man who on July 22 1994 promised us Heaven only to become a Curse for us. The Evil Dictator designed a security system that feeds on bloods, which is why most people have been sounding the bell that strong policy must be adopted to rid the system of rotten security officers and their accomplices. These rotten souls will neithet change nor feel remorseful towards peace loving Gambians.
The unfortunate Faraba Banta incident should force the government to take the bull by its horns and let all criminal security officers know decency and the supremacy of the law must be uphold at all times. Are these criminals planning to destabilise the country ahead of the launching of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission? Or the government’s opponents using innocent citizens to create chaos in the country? This is not an easy task or politics as usual. Criminals are smart, tactical and strategic, for they know how to corner governments. Their best strategy is to make people trust them before they undermine and strike. No stone must be left unturned. We need to provide a proper ghusl (janaba washing) for our dirt-infested security agents. How do we snore in peace when the enemy security officer has the fire arm ready to release? Let us act fast before we have a repeat of the ugly Faraba Banta incident. It is deeply heartbroken for anyone to be killed in Adama Barrow’s Gambia – a new Gambia where citizens start breeding freedom, peace and justice. An old wine in a new bottle is still an alcohol.
In our quest to search for truth, all the relevant questions – who armed the PIU with live rounds, who ordered firings, who did the shootings and why – must all be answered thoroughly. How to avoid a recurrence of the incident should be the immediate priority of the government and that those found culpable must face the full face of the law.
Ends