Barely 24 hours after a high court in Banjul sentenced the country’s former notorious spy chief and five others to death for their role in killing former opposition leader Solo Sandeng, his son Muhammed Sandeng has welcomed the verdict.
Muhammed, who led the advocacy to see his Dad’s killers face justice, told Alkamba Times that:”
The judgment is quite diligently done, and the sentences are befitting.
The perpetrators of the murder committed it with disdain and quite deliberately because they thought they were invincible until justice caught up with them. It signals that anybody holding power must not abuse power because the arms of justice are long.”
The ex-Spy chief, Yankuba Badjie, and his colleagues were charged with murder over the killing of Ebrima Solo Sandeng, who was an opposition activist and the former United Democratic Party youth wing leader.
They were found guilty on 25 counts levied by state prosecutors against them, ranging from conspiracy to commit murder, felony, grievous harm, concealment, forgery, and disobedience of statutory orders, amongst others.
High Court Judge Justice Kumba Sillah Camara passing judgment on Wednesday, sentenced Six former NIA intelligence operatives to death, a verdict that has received praise from right activists and the Sandeng family.
On April 14, 2016, the victim, Solo Sandeng, was arrested alongside six UDP party members by the Police Intervention Unit following a peaceful demonstration over electoral reforms at Westfield.
In her judgment, High court Judge Justice Kumba Sillah Camara rule that the court found the accused persons, namely, former NIA Director General Yankuba Badjie, Sheik Omar Jeng, Baboucarr Sallah, Tamba Masireh, Lamin Darboe and Lamin Lang Sanyang guilty for the murder of Ebrima Solo Sandeng at the NIA premises in Banjul on April 15, 2015.
The Judge cited section 188 of the criminal code and other laws of the Gambia, saying the prosecution has satisfied the ‘burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt’ through material and corroborative pieces of evidence presented to the court depicting how the accused conspired to beat and torture Ebrima Solo Sandeng to death.
