By: Mariama Njie
Lang Tombong Tamba, former Gambian Chief of Defense Staff has denied detainees were not torture before the panel of inquiry.
Testifying before the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, he said: “there were no rampant tortures of the detainees and the panel has never instructed the patrol team to go and torture detainees outside.
“That is false simply because I have said it before the commission that the confessions were done without any torture. After they have confessed whatever follows did not happen” inside the panel room, he repeated to the commissions severely.
“We never accept anyone to be tortured in the conference room. Our objectives were for them to confess or not,” he said.
He stated further that “let me refer you to the GRTS video tape where you will be able to access for yourself whether those people sitting under that tape made a confession freely that they were been torture or not.”
At heated questioning by the Lead Counsel Ensa Faal he and further answered “witnesses were not tortured and force to confess, that has not happen in the panel and what happen outside the panel was not my knowledge and I know nothing about it.”
To the best of his knowledge, he said whenever an individual is brought before the panel the person will be seated comfortably and will be given the opportunity to give his own verdicts and after they are done with that the statements are taken after which they send them back to mile 2.
“I will make this clear it seems as counsel you have drawn your conclusion because of the way you put your statement, just ask me this is what Mr. x and y said and you allow me to confirm but instead you have believe on what the detainees said,” he said to the commission.
He told the commission that it was surprising that all the detainees confesses without been force or torture while he maintained that confession was not obtain by force.