By Adama Makasuba
Tijan Touray, a former body guard to ex-president Jawara has slammed the 1994 coup as mutiny while giving his testimonies on Skype in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.
“I looked at the coup like a mutiny of disgruntle soldiers-if there was a resistance there wouldn’t have been a coup,” he told the commission.
He added that: “Rebels I would call them-they were like rebels- they turned in out of their berries…you couldn’t identify who is a soldier or from others. If there was a resistance the coup wouldn’t have been successful,” he said.
Touray described the 1994 coup as a mutiny as he added that Jammeh couldn’t have organised a coup because he was not organised and that Jammeh organised only his friends.
Tijan, who was an ex-corporal at the Defunct Gendarmerie, further described former president Jammeh during those days as not taking orders from his senior officers and that he swore too much.
He then added that: “The way he speaks, he swears a lot and he doesn’t take orders from senior officers. He works like a bandit sort of –he was a radical definitely.”
He told the commission that had it been that ex-captain Turo Jawneh was serving as the commander at the State House then 1994 coup wouldn’t be successful, adding that Turo was a dedicated and committed commander who loves his nation.
He also added that on July 22, both the coupists and guards at the State House were armed with well equipped rifles but then said “Lang Tombong Tamba stated that we are all soldiers and to avoid bloodshed, let’s just allowed them to enter. When I heard that I started to walk away and I walked very fast. I know that this was not right.”
The former military officer said later he and Kebba Sonko with others had a meeting with the aim of getting rid of Yahya Jammeh and his junta men but on that Lang Tombong Tamba again resisted against their plan.
“Lang said that we can’t do this…that would cause bloodshed. These people have taken over the State House. I was charged for treason for joining Sir Dawda Jawara, I know I must have been reported by Lang Tombong Tamba,” he added.