By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
Musa Sonko, the ex-Ambassador of Gambia to Guinea Bissau, has announced intentions to pursue legal action against Momodou Tangara, the Foreign Affairs Minister, and Sulayman Omar Njie, his Permanent Secretary. The allegations include abuse of office and meddling with a corruption investigation at the Gambian Embassy in Guinea Bissau, which resulted in Sonko’s unwarranted recall to the country.
In an Interview with TAT on Sunday, he claimed that the Foreign Minister instigated his recall to hide corrupt activities conducted by the Deputy Ambassador to Guinea Bissau.
Since being recalled from Guinea Bissau in 2018, the embattled former Gambian Ambassador has been battling the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This led to a protracted legal battle that he won against the foreign ministry.
“Right now, I have engaged a Lawyer to prepare a suit against Momodou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his Permanent Secretary for abuse of office and interference in the investigation of corrupt practices at The Gambian Embassy in Bissau. After being appointed Ambassador and having gone through the files, I realized that Deputy Ambassador Bernard Mendy and the Financial Attache, Faye Ceesay, had been engaged in a series of corrupt practices that the Minister and Permanent Secretary were trying to cover,” Musa Sonko, revealed to TAT.
He added: “As required, I did my findings and wrote a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but instead of addressing the alleged corrupt practices at the embassy, the Minister and his Permanent Secretary decided to recall me back. However, I have since won my case against the Government. I am now ready to drag Minister Momodou Tangara and Permanent Secretary Sulayman Omar Njie for abusing their offices and covering corrupt practices at the embassy.”
The former Ambassador to Bissau recounted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked him to return to the country to accompany former Vice President Ousainou Darboe to Guinea Conakry. He noted that moments after returning, he was recalled, and a new Ambassador was appointed to take over his position.
He revealed to TAT that the Office of the Secretary-General and Personal Management Office had written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning his recall and hence calling for his redeployment.
He asserted that all these calls fell on the deaf ears of the Minister, who was all out to cover the alleged corrupt practices ongoing at the Gambian Embassy in Bissau.
Sonko said Deputy Ambassador Bernard Mendy and the financial attache, Faye Ceesay, have been inflating fuel supplied to him and the embassy. He noted that his findings revealed that the duo has also been making payments to ghost names that are not part of the embassy staff but appear in the pay slips, including other unauthorized payments that are not affiliated with the embassy’s work.
According to him, when he wrote about these alleged fraudulent activities in a report to Foreign Affairs, the Minister and his Permanent Secretary wasted no time recalling him back to the country.
Musa Sonko was appointed the head of the Gambian mission in Guinea Bissau, accredited to Cape Verde and Guinea Conakry, on October 17, 2017. However, he was abruptly recalled on November 2, 2018, after serving one year and five months at the mission.
Before his appointment, Musa Sonko was deputy party leader of the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) and Co-Chairperson of Coalition 2016. the 2016 coalition was instrumental in overthrowing the government of former president Yahya Jammeh and electing President Adama Barrow on December 2, 2016.
