For your information, Bai Mass Kah, is a messenger employed by Foroyaa Newspaper. He was arrested at his home on Thursday 2013. When the information regarding his arrest was received, I, as Managing Editor of Foroyaa, contacted the police to enquire about his welfare, the cause of his detention and whether bail could be secured.
Bai Mass was transported from a Police station at Latri Kunda Yiringanya where he resides to Serre Kunda Police station where I met him in a cell. I was not allowed to talk to him but the officer-in-charge simply said he was brought there by another security outfit and did not know why he was detained there. I contacted the O/C at the station who also claimed that the file was not before him and he could not explain why he was detained there.
I was asked to contact Deputy Commissioner Bojang who was contacted a number of times to fix concrete appointments, but none materialised. I was at the police station when Bai Mass boarded a Pick Up truck surrounded by the task force, but I later discovered that they just helped to transport him to another station. I continued to make enquiries the next day and found out that he was detained at the Kotu Police Station.
The family was informed and they started to provide him with food up to Saturday when he was moved again to an unknown destination 24 hours before the 72 hours permitted for detention without trial elapsed. My information is that he was arrested at his home.
Prior to that, he was sitting at his normal chatting place with a friend. He is not held for any matter connected with his work. The arrest appears to emanate from allegations made against him by a stranger who had an encounter with him. The content of the allegations are still unknown to us and whether they should provoke such drastic reaction is still a subject of enquiry.
My concern is that whatever may have been the cause of his arrest, he should not be detained for more than 72 hours without either granting him bail or be taken before a court. Section 19 of the Constitution clearly states that, “Any person who is arrested or detained-
(b) upon reasonable suspicion of his or her having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence under the Laws of The Gambia, and who is not released, shall be brought without undue delay before a court and, in any event, within seventy-
two hours.”
This is why on Tuesday I accompanied his wife to make enquiries from the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the O/C and the IG regarding his whereabouts. The authorities at the police station made it clear that he was not with them.
Bai Mass was last seen by many people at Kotu Police Station and all of them would be able to testify that he has been under police custody up to Saturday. The police should be able to explain what happened to him in any court of law.
This is why the decision was taken to approach a legal counsel so that a case would be filed at the high court to ensure that he is produced in court by the police or any authority that took custody from the police and those in charge be ordered to comply with the constitution.
However, to be doubly sure that we are not dealing with a case of disappearance without trace, we went to the NIA headquarters to make our final enquiry regarding his whereabouts since his wife was in a desperate state because of her inability to trace his whereabouts. We were received at the NIA Headquarters by a Senior officer and told that even though the case is that of the police, Bai Mass Kah, was with them for a specific purpose and would be handed back to the police very soon. How soon was not explained.
In this regard, Foroyaa is to cooperate with the family to begin legal consultation and processes with effect from tomorrow to ensure compliance with section 19 of the Constitution. It would also be fair to inform the Press that since the case seems to have political undertones, an initiative is on the ground aimed at bringing this matter to a close. If there are any further developments on that score, the media would be duly informed.
Issued by the Managing Editor of Foroyaa