Omar Barrow is the only victim of Bloody Monday that I know, personally. He is the one whose advice took me to the scene. As I was the immediate past president, I abstained as much as possible from the incident in order not to interfere with the new executive committee of GAMSU.

I met with Omar on the MDI Road a few days before this fateful day, and he insisted that I should help the new Executive Committee. I explained why I chose to distance myself from them, but he insisted that I must help them. He reminded me of how useful our weekly programme on Sud FM Banjul was. It was being monitored closely by State House because occasionally he got calls from there appreciating our discussions. He asked why the new Executive wasn’t continuing the programme, especially in those crucial days. I didn’t know why, but they knew the programme was still there for them, used it a few times, but weren’t regular like my Executive was on it. In fact, two members of my Executive got re-elected into the new Executive.

When I saw the clashes between the students and the paramilitary on my way to work, I attempted to make an effort to stop it. At 09.30 I had brought a lull in the confrontation at the Iceman Junction. Both parties stopped but the paramilitary couldn’t leave the highway as I demanded because their leader said their boss was around. I asked who that boss was, and he said the interior minister Ousman Badjie. He pointed to the minister by the roadside near the Mobile Traffic Unit.

I walked up to him and requested for the withdrawal of the paramilitary from the highway, but he wouldn’t agree with me. After a long uncomfortable stand off, the fighting resumed. The paramilitary pursued the students towards Westfield junction. It was a missed opportunity, and I was afraid things would worsen if the skirmishes reached Westfield as other elements could get involved.

I met with Baba Jobe around KMC, and I thought he’d be able to convince the minister but no. He said he had no authority over him. Baba kept lamenting about the forceful dispersal of the group from GTTI. He argued that it was better if the traffic was deviated as that would have been better than this noisy confrontation with the forces firing blank bullets, and the students throwing stones.

When I didn’t succeed in stopping the fight, I went back to Iceman to collect my bicycle which I had left by the roadside there. I didn’t find it. I lost it forever. I went home in Kanifing South, and then opened then to the Youth OAU office in Kanifing South where my colleagues and I decided to be helping lost children get in touch with their parents through the office telephone.

This is what we did until around eleven o’ clock when a boy came with what he called a bullet in his arm. A clot of blood could be seen on the swollen spot. Buzenty Gomez, one of my Youth OAU colleagues took the wounded boy to the Red Cross. He came back with the devastating news that Omar Barrow had been shot. May his soul rest in perfect peace. Ameen.

By Facuru Sillah