By Gainako’s Banjul Correspondent
Two Clearing agents, Samba Bah of Latrikunda German and his boss were arrested few days ago in Gambia in connection with a container they cleared at the Gambia Ports Authority. The said container is alleged to be carrying drugs and weapons. A source that reached Gainako noted, “I just received the news that Samba Bah and his boss were arrested by the NIA and have since been kept incommunicado. The source added that Samba and his agency allegedly cleared a container containing drugs and weapons”. Samba works for a container clearing agency.
It is not clear on Samba and his boss’ involvement in the said container. Other family sources that reached out to Gainako are asking the Gambia Government to allow the duo access to their families and lawyers. They are yet to be charged with any crimes.
It is not yet clear if criminal charges will be brought against the duo or when they will be arraigned in court. What is clearly known is that a clearing agent might not fully know what is inside a container when clearing. Under Gambia’s law, anyone arrested should be charged within 72 hours, failure of which he/she should be released. It is the job of the arresting authority to update the general public on what happened and the whereabouts of the ones arrested. The continued silence on this is a violation of rights of those arrested and puts a lot of fear on the family members. This is a common occurrence in the Gambia where the authorities have little or no regards to due process.
According to a source close to the family, Samba is detained with others because someone allegedly used his clearing agent’s stamp to clear the container that contained weapons which were allegedly used in the December 30th 2014 failed coup. That person who stole the stamp has also been arrested by the Gambian authorities and is now in detention. His family has been allowed access to him added the source, while Samba and his boss are still denied access.
The situation surrounding this case is pretty serious as many workers in Gambia especially at the Ports Authority are involved in deals of all sorts to get money including law enforcement agencies. Despite President Jammeh’s crackdown on corruption, the situation has gotten worse because the President himself is seen to be saying one thing but acting as corrupt as anybody. This is what may explain why his anticorruption tirades are as futile as his numerous threats of jailing and firing people. Human beings are not animals in that you cannot remote control them while the leaders are acting nepotistic and corrupt in their daily duties. All arrested in this case are yet to be charged before a competent court of law. Gainako reporters are closely monitoring the situation and will update readers as more information becomes available in the next few days.