Sergeant Omar Jallow, a former member of Jammeh’s death squad, the Jungulers, has revealed how the missing Gambian-Americans, Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe, were kidnapped and summarily executed on the orders of former president Yahya Jammeh.

The sergeant, who had confessed his role in several extra-judicial killings during the brutal Jammeh rule, was testifying before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission on Wednesday July 24.

He gave an harrowing account of the death of the two Gambian-Americans who were holidaying in the country in May 2013 when they went missing.

Sergeant Jallow, who had the alias Oya, told the Commission that Malick Manga invited him and other members of the Junguler squad to a meeting in Kololi.

He named Major Nuha Badjie, Captain Momodou Jarju alias Rambo, Lieutenant Mustapha Sanneh, Lieutenant Michael Jatta, WO2 Fansu Nyabally, WO2 Pa Sanneh, Staff Sergeant Amadou Badjie, Staff Sergeant Sulayman Sambou, Corporal Saikouba Jarju and Micheal Correa as the soldiers who were present at the meeting.

He disclosed that Major Nuha Badgie informed them of the ‘information’ they had about the Gambian-Americans’ plot to overthrow the Jammeh regime.

Major Nuha Badgie, he added, had also informed them of the surveillance operation that was being undertaken by Michael Correa at the hotel the two Gambian-Americans were staying.

“Michael Correa was monitoring their ins and outs at the hotel and was giving us the information with regards to their movements.

“When they were leaving the hotel, Correa informed us and we mounted a checkpoint at the Petroleum House were we arrested the two (Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe).

He disclosed that at the time of their arrests there were 5 people in the vehicle including three girls and that they were arrested around 3am.

Sergeant Jallow said they searched the hotel rooms of the two Gambian Americans for evidence but they couldn’t find anything incriminating.

“We saw a truck parked outside and searched it but we couldn’t find anything. We found in their possession some money in dollars and dalasi but I don’t know the amount. We gave the money to Nuha Badgie,” Sergeant Jallow told the Commission.

He said the men confessed under torture that the purpose of their visit to The Gambia was “to overthrow the president” and that they had a shipment of weapons and ammunition that they were waiting to arrive.

He added that the men said the truck was to be used to transport the weapons that they would hide in bags of hays.

Sergeant Jallow said after the “confession” under torture, they informed General Sulayman Badgie about the “information” they had gleaned from the two Gambian-Americans.

The information, according to Sergeant Jallow, was conveyed to President Jammeh who ordered for the two men to be taken to his home village of Kanilai.

“We put them into the vehicle and took the two (Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe) to Kanilai,” he said.

“Nuha Badgie, Momodou Jarju, Michael Jatta and Mustapha Sanneh took the two inside Jammeh’s house.

” After about 30 minutes, Nuha Badgie came out and told us that Jammeh had given an instruction that we kill the two and chop them into pieces.

“We put them in the vehicle and drove to Jammeh’s garden in a convoy. It’s behind Kanilai. Solo Bojang was part of the operation.

“I brought shovel and pick axe and I was part of the diggers. We dug only one ditch.

“We covered their heads with plastic bags and suffocated them … and because Jammeh had given orders that we cut them into pieces, Malick Manga and Fansu Nyabally cut of the heads of Ebou and Mamut. After completing the digging, we buried them in the ditch and returned to Kanilai.

Alhagie Mamut Ceesay and his childhood friend, Ebou Jobe, were naturalised U.S citizens who traveled to Banjul in May 2013 to start a cashew business. They went missing in June 2013 after they were kidnapped and held incommunicado on the orders of former president Yahya Jammeh. The Jammeh regime had denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.