Thanks Coach, once again for this invaluable service to Gambians and friends of The Gambia. This looks like A(F)PRC modus operandi. Not surprising there will be no public condemning of this cowardly act, by the government.
May I remind the AFPRC thugs, or rather those that Yaya and Edward used, that they should not forget the present fate of those thugs the illegal government used in the past to carry out heinous acts. Yaya uses and discard you, either when you refuse to carryout those acts or when he doesnot need you anymore. The list is long: From Almamo Manneh, Landing Sanneh, to those guards and orderlies. Your day will come, very soon!

Ebrima Ceesay <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Note: My apologies for not sending this interview earlier. I am still
recovering from pneumonia, and this has delayed me.

I also apologise in advance for all the questions you wish that I had asked
Lawyer Sillah, and didn’t. One of the problems of a telephone, rather than
a face-to-face interview, is that they tend to be less exhaustive than one
would hope.

I have given considerable thought to the naming of the alleged assailants,
but have decided not to reveal their names in this article. Until we have
definitive proof – or a successful identity parade – then it is best to keep
to the facts, rather than circumstantial evidence or hearsay. Most of us
are highly convinced that Edward Singhateh is deeply involved in the case,
and we have a good idea of who the actual assailants were. The Gambian
police are welcome to contact me to ask me my thoughts on the possible
identity of the attempted murderers – but it is highly unlikely that they
will!!

(To one of my sources in the heart of the Gambian Government – forgive me
for not naming names at this point. I did however, pass on the names you
gave me to Lawyer Sillah). Read the Lawyer Sillah interview below:


*******************************************************************************



LAWYER OUSMAN SILLAH BREAKS HIS SILENCE



"The Doctors in Senegal have now removed the bullets that were shot into me
and have given them to my wife. I have lost one kidney and there is also a
slight disfigurement to my face as a result of the gun shots. Although I
have lost one of my kidney, I nonetheless thank God for sparing my life".

These were the words of Lawyer Ousman Sillah, now out of hospital and
continuing his recovery at a friend’s home in Dakar, Senegal. For merely
carrying out his job and defending Baba Jobe in line with the ethics of the
legal profession, Mr Sillah has paid a heavy price.

Yahya Jammeh has brought lawlessness, tyranny and repression to replace the
rule of law in The Gambia, and Ousman Sillah has been a victim of this
wicked regime.

Speaking exclusively to me in a recent telephone interview, Lawyer Sillah
said that he had no doubt in his mind that the shooting was a
state-sponsored act, and had been motivated by his aggressive defence of his
client, Baba Jobe.

"I don’t know the names of those who carried out the shooting, but I have a
conviction that it was state-sponsored. There is a lot of circumstantial
evidence to show that this was an attempted murder carried out by people
acting on behalf of the state," Sillah continued.

During the interview, I put it to Mr Sillah that I had been informed by a
reliable source at the heart of Jammeh’s government, that it was Edward
Singhateh who with the approval of Jammeh, gave the orders for the killing
of Mr Sillah. I also told him that my source reported that after the
shooting, Edward Singhateh had sent a soldier to the Banjul Mortuary (Dead
House) to find out if Sillah had been killed.

I gave Mr Sillah the names of the two soldiers alleged by my source to have
carried out the attack. I am continuing to withhold the names of these two
men from this article.

Lawyer Sillah commented that it was his conviction that the state had had a
hand in his shooting, but that solid evidence was required in a court of law
to prove the case, and that circumstantial evidence would not suffice.

"It was an attempted murder, but the legal elements are very complex,"
Sillah added.

Recalling that terrible night, Sillah said that on the evening of 25/26th
December 2003, he left his home at around 10pm to go to the Pipeline road
near the Mosque to attend the "mour" of Rugie Lowe, Malick Lowe’s daughter.

"I was at the ceremony until midnight, and I left to return to my home
opposite Marina International School in Bakau. I drove my son’s car that
night, My own four-wheel drive vehicle was being used by my wife and the
driver, so I took my son’s car. I was alone in the car as I drove home,"
Sillah recalled.

"When I arrived at the gate of my compound, I waited for my watchman to open
the gate for me. It was then that I saw two figures coming from a pick-up
vehicle just behind my car. The pick-up did not have a number plate, and
was of the type used by the Gambia National Army. I have seen pick-ups of
this type being driven towards State House in Banjul. While I was still in
my car calling on my watchman to open the gate, I saw the figures moving
closer to the tail end of my car. Just two meters away."

"They came closer to me, while I was still sitting in the car, and I clearly
saw them holding guns. The two men each had a gun. One figure was fairly
tall, and the other was much shorter in stature. I turned my head to them,
and saw the tall man raise his gun and direct it at me. I never came out of
my car. And then the first shot came and I felt an explosion in my head."

"Having been shot once, I fell in the car seat towards the gear lever, and
as I tried to sit upright, another shot was fired at me. That shot blew up
the right side of my face below the eye. I recall putting my hand to that
side of my face to check what had happened. I remained slumped in the front
of the car and I kept motionless. I was not aware of other shots being
fired at me, but I did become aware that my two assailants had returned to
their own vehicle and driven off."

Here, I pointed out to Lawyer Sillah that according to my source, his
assailants were wearing dark glasses and that they had a walkie-talkie
machine on which they could brief Edward Singhateh on the outcome of their
dreadful mission. Lawyer Sillah could not recall whether his assailants had
a walkie-talkie or were wearing dark glasses.

Continuing with his description of events, Lawyer Sillah said, "Being aware
that my assailants had left the scene, I then struggled to open the car
door, and I staggered into my compound. The incident had happened at the
gate of my compound, and not inside it. I got to my house, bleeding
profusely. I staggered onto the settee in my living room. I told my
watchman to fetch my wife and tell her that I had been shot. My wife came
into the room and I was rushed to the Ndeban Clinic. At this point, I was
still conscious and I narrated my ordeal to my doctor, Doctor Faal."

"I was taken to the operating theatre, and then the Chief Justice, Justice
Gibou Janneh and some lawyers came to visit me. After a while, I was taken
to the airport to fly to Senegal. I was in terrible, acute pain but I
remained conscious."

Asked about his treatment in Dakar, Sillah continued:

"I had a successful operation in Dakar and am grateful to my team of
doctors, especially Professor Idirissa Sillah and Dr Hobbalah, a surgeon
specialist who looked after me very well. The bullets have been removed
from me, and my wife has them. The doctors have told me that they have also
removed one of my kidneys, leaving me with just one."

Asked where exactly he had been shot, Sillah said, "I don’t know for sure.
I felt a shot in my face. There was a bullet that had exited from my back.
I was certainly shot more than once. I bled a lot. My condition was so bad
that my watchman cried like a baby in my sitting room, while he waited for
my wife to attend me."

"The intention of my assailants was to kill me. They wanted to eliminate
me. But God is great. I am now at my friend’s house in Dakar, and I am
recovering fairly well. I have had the stitches removed from my face. My
face is slightly disfigured, but my back has healed up properly. I have
some stitches left around my stomach area. I go for a change of dressing
every other day."

Asked about his plans for the future, the veteran lawyer said, "I will be in
Dakar in the short and medium term. I have no plans to go back to The
Gambia right now. I will use this period to reflect on the future. From
Dakar, I intend to visit the USA followed by a trip to the UK. I shall only
return to The Gambia in the longer term."

Questioned about whether he intends to sue the state, he replied, "I do not
know about legal action. Who can I sue ? I have my own conviction that the
shooting was state-sponsored, but in a court of law, it is necessary to have
more than circumstantial evidence. I find consolation in the calls of
sympathy I received from all parts of the world. This incident has touched
many people and let us hope and pray that something good will come out of it
at the end of the day."

Asked about his relationship with his client, Baba Jobe, Lawyer Sillah
commented, "I met Baba Jobe once, and then again at the Library of the Court
house just a few minutes before the case started. A team of lawyers and the
YDE Management had arranged my meeting with Baba Jobe. While representing
Jobe, I was doing my job in line with our professional ethics. For me, I
will defend a person regardless of his or her colour, religion, tribe,
political affiliation or history."

Asked whether he felt Baba Jobe was likely to be acquitted, and to give his
comments on the case, Lawyer Sillah responded, "The matter is sub-judice and
as such, I cannot comment on its merits or demerits at this point."

Sillah did however indicate that Baba Jobe felt that he had been badly
treated by the APRC regime, given his loyalty to Jammeh and his services to
the APRC party.

"Jobe was genuinely stunned by the actions taken against him by his former
friends. By the way, Baba Jobe always has his personal lawyer. I was only
to lead the criminal aspect of the case, and that was the economic crime he
was charged with. Baba Jobe had apparently been impressed with my style of
cross-examination."

Sillah continued, "I don’t deserve an attempted murder. In fact, no-one
does. Anyway, I am glad that people have spoken for me. People are writing
on the Internet and in the newspapers, expressing their support and sympathy
for me and my family. I did a lot for my country – in the Police, in the
Judiciary and in Sports. In fact, I once acted as Acting Chief Justice of
The Gambia. I was also the Captain of the Gambian National Soccer squad
which last defeated Senegal."

He added, "You see, as a lawyer, you defend your client vigorously
regardless of his background and history. That is what our professional
ethics demand".

Asked about his recent meeting in Dakar with a Gambian government delegation
led by the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice, Sillah said that he
was never given the impression from the outset that this was going to be an
official Gambian Government delegation.

"I got a telephone call from the Judicial Secretary about the trip, and I
was given to understand that there was going to be a delegation from the
Judiciary – not the government. They came to visit me with the Chief
Justice and Ebou Momar Taal, the Gambian High Commissioner to Senegal. They
disclosed that they were sent by Yahya Jammeh. Well, I gave them a run down
of how I felt. I am yet to hear any condemnation of this barbaric act from
the government. Members of the Bar Association came to see me recently."

Sillah then recalled, "By the way, I was driving an Audi hatchback, red in
colour, when I was shot. This car was owned by my son, Andy."

On Baba Jobe’s trial, Sillah added, "If the court in which he is being tried
is a good court and a fair court, then Baba Jobe is likely to go free since
the case of the state against him is very, very weak indeed."

At this point, my interview with Ousman Sillah came to an end. It had
lasted for more than an hour, and had obviously been distressing for the
veteran lawyer to recall the events of that December night and the pain
which followed on from it. I expressed my deep thanks that I had been given
the chance to ask some pertinent questions, and I ended the call with
prayers from myself and the entire Gambian community around the world for
his speedy recovery to full health.

And now, I – like you – am wondering what is the state of the police
investigation into the attempted murder ? What are our Gambian police doing
to bring the two assailants to justice ? What investigations have been done
on the red Audi driven by Lawyer Sillah that fateful night ? Have the
Gambian police asked for a return of the bullets removed from the lawyer’s
body and later handed over to his wife, Ancha ? Are they doing forensic
checks on the bullets in an attempt to locate the gun or guns which fired
them ? Have witnesses to the murder attempt been sought ? Questioned?
Re-questioned ? Have the police undertaken a search for an army-type pickup
? Has any pick-up been examined for traces of blood ? Where are the murder
weapons ? What make of gun(s) fired those shots ? Have the Gambian Police
asked for further details from Lawyer Sillah during his long recovery period
in Dakar ?

Has the Gambian Government launched a full-scale and urgent enquiry into the
shooting of one of The Gambia’s judicial luminaries ?

What precisely have our police and government been doing since December 26th
??

Well – in usual APRC-Jammeh fashion – they have been doing A LOT OF NOTHING.

Investigations into the details of the murder attempt have ground to a halt.
The government continues its witchhunt against its own criminal elements,
and refuses to set up an official enquiry.

All those avenues of enquiry which should have been followed up have come to
dead-ends.

Nothing is happening – except of course, Ousman Sillah is still paying the
price in pain and distress.

Fellow Gambians, it is absolutely vital that we start to lobby – and to
lobby in earnest – for a full investigation into this dreadful crime. We
need to be pressing the Gambian Government, the Gambian Police, the
Commonwealth, the national and international judiciary, the Bar Association
– everyone in fact, who could help to ensure that Sillah’s assailants and
their pay masters are brought to justice.

And let us not forget all those other crimes committed against our brothers
and sisters which remain dusty on shelves of government inactivity. Let us
also lobby for Gambians like Ousman Koro Ceesay, Lt. Almamo Manneh, Lt.
Basiru Barrow, Lt. Gibril Saye, Lt. Ndot Faal. Let us lobby for good men
like Dumo Sarho who is still languishing behind bars for a non-existent
crime.

As peace and justice loving citizens, we cannot stand back while Jammeh and
his heinous criminals commit murder on us.

We have to do all we can to bring this scandalous regime to its knees – and
then to bring all them to the justice which they deny to the innocent today.

May Almighty God help us in a struggle for decency and justice.

Ameen.



Ebrima Ceesay,
Birmingham, UK

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