Consider this hypothetical situation: after sparring with my able and
indefatigible compatriot, Kebba Dampha, in the struggle all this time; each
then moved on to other things after Jammeh's reign of terror is pronounced
over. Dampha opts for the quieter life as a private citizen with private
pursuits, whilst by a quirk twist of fates, i land myself a political office
and find out that i'm the occupant of an instrument of influence in the new
scheme of things. The powers that be that i serve for spurrious reasons
decided to seize Dampha's liberties and illegally incarcerate him for crimes
they would not specify. My response? I give and continue to give Dampha's
family's pleas for compassion a deaf ear and pretend that Dampha doesn't
exist or we were never comrades-in-arms; whilst i continue to defend the
regime anytime it needed defending.

Of course, as alluded to, this scenario is but hypothetical. Yet, anyone
familiar with the Gambia's current state of affairs would easily recognise
the ripples of similarity our hypothesis shares with a certain true life
story - that of Sarjo Jallow's toleration and lack of comradeship in the
plight of Dumo Sarho. That after what had transpired between these two
comrades in the past, one could eventually turn out to be on the side of the
forces that continue to illegally incarcerate the other, is mind-boggling to
say the least. If ten years ago Dumo was informed that one day Sarjo would be
part of his captors, he would have in all probability laughed it off; and
maybe even dump it into the bin of the preposterous. Yet, ten years down the
line, what would have been brushed off as preposterous is now an every day
reality as Dumo continues to languish behind bars since he was first
illegally detained more than a year ago by the evil regime that Sarjo
continues to serve as an influential spokesman. How could comrades suddenly
turn their backs on each other in so short a time? How could two who
passionately shared progressive views and agenda for the Gambia suddenly
become night and day? How could two who struggled together on a common cause
and stood by each other during the difficult times come to represent two
different things in so short a period?  I'm sure these are the questions
Dumo's wife, family and friends ask themselves as they continue to be
stupefied by Sarjo's participation in a regime that continues to illegally
incarcerate their loved one. Deep throat has it that not only has Sarjo
turned his back on Dumo, but in instances where he knew Dumo's family,
especially his wife, want to seek his help, Sarjo avoids them or keep
mumbling promises that he will never keep. These days, the relationship is an
arms-lenght one.

Clearly, Sarjo's betrayal of a former comrade who is in need and happens to
be illegally incarcerated by the gov't that Sarjo continues to serve is a sad
tale of betrayal. Even if Sarjo knows deep in his heart that Dumo is guilty
of the conspiracy charges - that have, as of yet, not been placed before a
magistrate - he is duty-bound to protest Dumo's continued illegally
detention. The brother deserves a fair trial, period. The least Sarjo could
do for Dumo is to intensely lobby the regime he continues to serve, to
arraign Dumo before magistrates to determine the merits of the charges the
NIA have helped concoct against him. Even if he did that for Dumo, the mere
fact that the brother continues to be illegally incarcerated is enough of a
reason for Sarjo to publicly take Jammeh to task over the illegal
incarceration. If the regime won't budge an inch on the issue, clearly the
only way he could retain his integrity is to resign from the gov't over the
issue. Yet to this day, Sarjo is the chief spin doctor for the regime: when
the regime needs to justify its illegal actions against the citizenry, Sarjo
would either be on GRTS or Citizen FM/Radio One to argue Jammeh's bogus cases
for him. What a tragic twist of fates. Who would have thought that one day
Sarjo would excuse the illegal detention of Dumo and even argue against
prosecuting those indicted in the April Massacres? Long may we all live to
see how it all ends.

Gambians must not forget that Dumo and all those illegally incarcerated with
him are prisoners of conscience; and we owe it to them and, indeed, our
cherished values of decency, tolerance and freedom to champion their plight
to any audience that grants us the opportunity to talk about how these people
are paying the price of someone else's paranoiac overrun. We mustn't let
ourselves be blackmailed and intimidated by vested interests - notably
Sarjo's wife, Jainaba Bah/Sister, now operating behind the paper tiger
pseudonym of Hasatou Barry - that are keen to see people forget Dumo and all
those prisoners of conscience still languishing in Mile Two, and all in the
name of defending the very comrade who betrayed Dumo in his hour of need.

Hamjatta Kanteh

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