Corporal Ebrima Jammeh, a Gambian soldier recently dismissed from the army following a viral TikTok video, broke down in tears as he recounted the condition of his sick mother while pleading for assistance.

Corporal Jammeh was detained for weeks after a viral video in which he expressed concern about the high cost of living in the country while wearing his army uniform. 

“What makes me very sad about my dismissal is that my mother is currently sick. She is suffering from high blood pressure. The day my mother called me to inform me about her falling sick again was the day I was arrested,” he recounted.

Enlisted in the army in 2007, Jammeh explained that he made the video out of good faith and love for his country.

“If I had known that the video would cause me this problem, I wouldn’t have made it while in uniform. And in fact, I didn’t know it was against army ethics to make such complaints while in uniform,” he said.

He added: “It has caused me something grave, which I regret because it made me lose a job I love, and that’s being a soldier.”

As the breadwinner of his family, Jammeh is heartbroken and uncertain about how he will feed his family, as he has no other means of providing for them other than through his army job. “I am the breadwinner of my family. I have no other job to take care of my family other than my army job. I had this problem out of my love for the country. So, anyone who can help me, please do so,” he pleaded.

However, his dismissal has left him with many unanswered questions, and he is requesting that the army provide a detailed reason for his dismissal.

He expressed:“I can’t understand how a corporal can be dismissed without any tangible reason. I am the breadwinner of my family, and I have no other job to take care of them. To be dismissed with empty hands after serving 18 years in the army is very painful.”

By Adama Makasuba