Pa Ebou Janha, Gambia’s last remaining World War Two veteran, has died aged 102.

Janha passed away last night (1 July) at his Brikama home with his family around him.

He was laid to rest today with full military honours. His coffin was drapped in the national flag as soldiers honoured him with a march past and 21 gun salute.

Socores of Gambians took to social media to pay their respect to the late veteran.

Janha was born the son of a jeweller in Banjul (then Bathurst). He joined his father, who was originally from Bwiam, on their seasonal migrations to their ancestral village to harvest groundnuts to be sold in Bathurst with the profits ploughed back into the family’s jewellery business.

In one of those trips in 1941, Janha was captured by village elders and forced to join The Gambia regiment of the British West African frontier forces. 

The 22-year-old was one of 1,350 men who were given training in jungle warfare, before the Royal Navy put them on boats to war in Burma, (modern-day Myanmar). 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba