A military court on Monday freed two Generals of the Gambia Armed Forces after a year-long trial for desertion.

Brigadier generals Umpa Mendy and Ansumana Tamba were on January 21, 2018 arrested after they returned from Equatorial Guinea. The two Generals were accused of deserting their command posts when they left the Gambia in January 2017 with the former president Yahya Jammeh to Equatorial Guinea after an Ecowas military force entered the country to end a political impasse.

The two Generals were facing a single count charge of desertion contrary to the laws of the Gambia Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, the state called six witnesses and tendered eight exhibits but the defence made no case to answer to the submissions but it was rejected by the court.

“The desertion charge of Brigadier General Umpa Mendy and Ansumana Tamba was brought pursuant to section 53 of the (GAF) Act. In view of the fact, we found Brigadier General Umpa Mendy and Brigadier General Ansumana Tamba not guilty of the charge,” the President of the court-martial said.

Announcing the verdict Commodore Madani Senghore said: “the conclusion (verdict) was made unanimously. We have found the two not guilty of (desertion) subject to confirmation and we have arrived to the conclusion that this court is closed.”

In their defence, the Generals told the court the circumstances that made them left the country with former president Yahya Jammeh to Equatorial Guinea.

The duo said that they were identified by General Saul Badjie to accompany the former president, Yahya Jammeh and his family to Equatorial Guinea.

 Meanwhile, speaking to the defence lawyer after the verdict, Uzoma Achigbue said: “it is refreshing that we can still expect that justice will be done and we see that justice was done.”

He said despite the trial taking a long time but that the judgment came at a worthy time, adding that “in any case I don’t think there is any blame on anybody for that it is the justice of the time.”

Brigadier General Ansumana Tamba after the verdict, said “I feel very much happy and I appreciate everybody and I thanked everybody”, adding that he is ever willing and ready to serve the country.

General Umpa Mendy and General Ansumana Tamba were members of former President Jammeh’s close protection officers. They have been accused of being members of the infamous and much feared hit squad ‘The Jungulars’.

This secret paramilitary group has been accused of gross and systemic human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture and disappearances of opponents of the former president Jammeh during his 22 year rule.  

Reporting by Adama Makasuba