Gambia court-martials alleged death squad leader

Sanna Manjang, the former head of Gambia's “Junglers” paramilitary unit under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh, appeared in military court in Banjul on Monday on desertion charges.

Manjang, a lieutenant colonel, is charged with deserting the armed forces when he went on the run in January 2017, as Jammeh was forced into exile at the end of his two-decade rule. The court martial concerns alleged desertion on or about January 21, 2017, and absence “for a continuous period of nine years with the intention of deserting”.

Manjang had previously been charged with four counts of murder, including over the killing of longtime AFP journalist Deyda Hydara, but those charges were dropped in mid-July. The murder case was withdrawn while the state works through how to call witnesses, as most are themselves alleged Junglers.

He was also charged separately in mid-July with assaulting two other men, in a trial that is ongoing.

The Junglers worked independently of Gambia's regular army. The United Nations and rights groups have long accused the unit of extrajudicial killings and torture.

Manjang was arrested in neighbouring Senegal in November and repatriated to Gambia in December. The Gambian Armed Forces described him on Monday as “implicated in serious human rights violations”.

Jammeh ruled Gambia from 1994 to 2017. After his departure, Gambia established the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, which found that between 240 and 250 people were killed by the state during his rule and said it found evidence of widespread extrajudicial killings, torture, kidnappings, witch hunts and other abuses.