By Adama Makasuba Lamin
Colley, warrant officer class 2 of The Gambia Armed Forces has accepted responsibility of killing Sergeant Fafa Nyang of Gambia National Army on November 10, 1994 at Yundum Barracks. Mr. Colley, 58, a medic currently serving the Gambia Navy made the revelation before the Truth Commission on Wednesday at Dunes hotel.
Mr. Colley, however, denied murdering Fafa Nyang intentionally. He explained to the Commission that as he was trying to safe Fafa Nyang his finger accidentally touched the trigger of his gun and it went off, and that led to bullets hitting the forehead of the deceased. “I was trying to control… while I was trying to control… my hand must have touched the trigger which led to the weapon to fire. When my weapon fired, immediately I saw blood oozing from the head of this gentleman who I was trying to safe. The state of panic which coincided with a voice that came down the same gathering where the shot came from urged me to get out from that place,” he explained in tears.
Mr Colley who joined the Gambia Armed Forces in 1991 as 15 intakes continued that “could you imagine somebody I wanted to safe happened to be finished by my mistake because I don’t know how it happened. It is my own mistake, I took (accepted) it,” he said rhetorically.
He continued in his testimony that he saw Lieutenant Sanna Sabally, Lieutenant Edward Singhateh, Lieutenant Sadibu Hydara and Lieutenant Peter Singhateh furiously standing at the spot with their guns. He went on that he could not describe their status due to the mood he was in then. Meanwhile he described the deceased to have dressed in military trouser and T-Shirt lying on ground dead.
He said Lieutenant Sanna Sabally ordered by telling him “get out there” while he (Colley) moved away from the death body. In his shaky voice he told the Commission that “apart from that of Fafa Nyang that I saw, I didn’t see any other person being kill or hear about other killings except few days later when I heard that some other soldiers were captured, detained and later taken out to the bush and killed.” He added that he cannot tell where their remains including the body of Fafa Nyang, and his other colleagues were buried up till now.