By AdamaMakasuba
The Minister of Interior in his testimony, Tuesday, told TRRC that he was not informed about the deployment of personnel of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) to the 2016 demonstration of United Democratic Party, which resulted to the mass arrest of some of the UDP members including Honorable Ousianu Darboe.
In 2016 UDP members demonstrated to demand for the release of their fellow members arrested by the personnel of PIU, which included Solo Sandeng who later died in the hands of the National Intelligent Agency.
Honorable Yankuba Sonko, who was the Inspector General of Police at the time said before the TRRC: “No I didn’t know what they used. After sometimes, I called him back and he said the situation is under control. No, I did not, all I found out from him is that and he said the situation is under control and there is no resistance.”
Answering other questions from the lead counsel, he said the normal procedure is deployment of PIU to such scene but “if they are to be deployed with arms, the IGP has to be informed. But if they are not armed with weapons then the IGP need not to be informed.”
However, he raged at allegation made by the United Nations investigator’s that he (Sonko) said UN investigators assigned to investigate into the 2005 migrants’ massacre were given alcohol and women at the Banjul International Airport.
Referring to one of the previous witnesses, Babucarr Bah, during his testimony, he testified that Yankuba Sonko, who was at the time the police crime management coordinator, said alcohol and women were given to UN investigators, and that he [Sonko] urged him not to provide any information.
But testifying before the TRRC yesterday (Tuesday), Honorable Sonko branded Mr Bah as ‘a big liar’ saying “that’s not true. Don’t be surprised that if somebody said members of this commission were given alcohol –Bah is a terrible liar! And these are people that I personally honoured, very well, and they are very respectable,” he told the commission as he responds to Mr Bah’s allegation.
“I am somebody who hates someone that lie in my presence, I hate natural lie because my biggest enemy is lie,” he said.
