Pa Modou Sarr, a retired army officer of the Gambia Armed Forces has admitted taking part in the torture of imprisoned soldiers at Gambia’s notorious Mile Two Prison.

The soldiers whom he admitted to have had participated in their torture are former vice chairman of the defunct AFPRC junta, Sanna B Sabally, late Sadibu Hydara and Lt Colonel Baboucarr Sanyang.

Testifying before the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission on Wednesday, Mr. Sarr said his team included Gambia Army General Alagie Martin, retired army officer Lamin Senghore alias ‘assassin’, Omar Ndure and others whom he claimed to have forgotten their names.

“Martine gave me a plastic bag and said you see how we are doing it?, I said yes; and he said do it and I took the nylon bag and put it over Warrant Officer Sanyang for a second and Martin told me to remove it,” he said.

Sarr told the Commission that “the prison officer opened the door and we entered and Manlafing brought him out while his hands were tied behind (his back) and, they asked him to sit down and he did so and that is the time they started putting the plastic bag over his head. They said Sanna you were trying to overthrow the Chairman and Sanna will say in the negative (never) but they didn’t want to hear that.”

He said the motive of that punishment was to compel Sanna Sabally to comply with them, adding “all of them except him participated in kicking and beating of Sanna Sabally.”

Sarr said Alagie Martin was the kingpin of the group that went to torture Sanna Sabally saying Martin was the man giving every order of inhumane action on Sabally.

He said Sanna B Sabally was taken to Mile Two by Gambia Army General Alagie Martine saying “while I was at QRS at State House then I was called by Malafing Corr to go on a mission.
“I was lying on the bed and Malafing came and hit me and said man come—go join the vehicle and at the vehicle Alagie Martine was sitting in front of the vehicle.”

Sarr accepted that while at Mile Two each of them were having a rifle and a plastic bag but refuted having any other weapons like harmer, electric box and other tools.

“Everybody was having his rifle and plastic bags but I didn’t see any one with a tool,” he told the Commission.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba