Halifa Sallah, the leader of PDOIS, says Omar Jallow’s account of his detention in 2005 “is distorted” and that he should “set the record straight.”

Omar Jallow, popular known as O.J, during his testimony on Monday to the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, mentioned his arrest and detention in 2005 at Mile Two prisons with Halifa Sallah and Hamat Bah as members of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD). He said he was taken to the Security Wing of Mile Two Prison while Halifa and Hamat were taken to the remand section.

Sallah in an open letter disputed O.J’s account and said that he was detained at the Security Wing of Mile Two Prison instead of the remand section.

“I am still wondering what you were trying to prove by giving a distorted account of where I was detained in 2005 when we were arrested as members of the NADD leadership and arraigned before Justice Paul charged, with Sedition.

“I do not know when you and Mr. Hamat Bah were arrested and where you were taken before you reached Mile Two Central Prisons.

“What is certain is that I stayed in a cell at the NIA where I defied sleep for two nights and was removed on the third day when they knew that they would never succeed in getting me to lie or sit on a floor powdered with ashes. Instead of being struck by despair I nursed my curiosity in doing more findings on what goes on in that building. I guess they did not want me to know more. Hence I was taken to the maximum security wing, at Mile Two where I was detained in the cell block where Ex-Mayor AbdouLie Conteh and Ex-Interior Minister Samba Bah were also detained. When Abdoulie Conteh was arrested from the airport and taken to Mile Two he passed my cell which was the next to Lamin Darboe’s Cell – an executed death row prisoner.”

There’s no love lost between the two veteran politicians and political rivals. Sallah urged his rival to give a truthful account of past events and not to use the TRRC as a political platform.

“I know you have always taken me for a political rival but truth and reconciliation is about putting the past behind us after the truth is said.

“I hope you will put the record straight. I do not think that you have any doubt that I carried out my duty without fear or favour, affection or ill will, as coordinator of NADD, as dictated by the times and circumstances. I would be prepared to engage you in any forum if you wish to defend that your narration on my place of detention was correct.”

Sallah warned O.J not to rewrite history and claimed that the 22 July 1994 coup happened due to the poor leadership of the PPP government.

“History cannot be rewritten. It is incontrovertible that the Government you served did not even have a war Cabinet and the Commander-in-Chief abandoned his troops at the most critical moment, thus depriving them of any command and control structure, resulting in the paralysis of the whole security apparatus leaving those who were more prepared to take over the mantle of leadership to do so.”