Bintou Nyabally, a member of the \u201cKalama Revolution\u201d has alleged that she was raped by two paramilitary personnel at the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) headquarters in Kanifing.<\/p>\n
According to Nyabally, the \u201crevolution\u201d stood against former President Yahya Jammeh\u2019s iron-fisted style of governance.<\/p>\n
Nyabally is a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and she was arrested while on her way to show solidarity with their party leaders who were facing trial on several criminal counts including unlawful assembly. The UDP leadership under Lawyer Ousainou Darboe took to the street on the 16th\u00a0April 2016 demanding the release of Ebrima Solo Sandeng, a youth leader of the party and his colleagues who were arrested on the 14th\u00a0April the same year.<\/p>\n
She said on the 17th\u00a0May 2016, they were on their way to the court to attend the case involving Lawyer Darboe and other leaders of their party but they were stopped by paramilitary personnel who were asking them to produce their national identity. She added that when they found out that she did not have a national identity card, she was taken to the PIU headquarters together with Mariama Sandeng, a daughter of Solo Sandeng.<\/p>\n
She said they were screened at the PIU headquarters and it was discovered that they were going to attend the trial of the UDP leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thrown in a dark cell with Mariama Sandeng. They kept telling us that we were enemies of the State,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said she was raped in the cell by two masked paramilitary officers, adding one of them was called Sanneh. She added that the second person used a condom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey both forced themselves on me and both of them wore masks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said in the process of resisting them, her hands and legs sustained bruises. She said before she was sexually assaulted, Mariama Sandeng was taken out of the cell leaving her alone in the cell.<\/p>\n
She said the next day, she saw Mariama Sandeng who told her nothing happened to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next day I was vomiting and we were released to go home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Witness\u2019 Testimony<\/p>\n
The 33 \u2013 year \u2013 old said on the 14th\u00a0April 2016, her uncle Solo Sandeng was arrested but she knew about the arrest the following day through a friend. She said, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe called on a press conference on the 16th\u00a0April where they decided to take to the street demanding for the State to produce Sandeng dead or alive. She said Lawyer Darboe instructed them to be peaceful and warned them against using vulgar language during the demonstration.<\/p>\n
She said they were attacked by paramilitary personnel at Comium building along the Kairaba Avenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe paramilitary personnel were releasing tear gas and they were beating us although I was not touched. They were using their batons. They beat and threw our leaders in their vehicle,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said the UDP leaders arrested included their party leaders (Ousainou Darboe), Lamin N. Dibba and Kemeseng Jammeh, among others.<\/p>\n
She said she escaped arrest and ran to Solo Sandeng\u2019s home. She added that masked soldiers came to Solo Sandeng\u2019s residence and surrounded the compound.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did not talk to anybody and they did not arrest anybody,\u201d she said, adding that they did not talk to anyone until they left.<\/p>\n
She said on the 9th\u00a0May 2016, she put on yellow trousers and a T-shirt bearing \u201cKalama Revolution\u201d. She added that they were issued with calabashes, brooms and T-shirts. \u201cThe calabash and broom signify that we are going to sweep Yahya Jammeh away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said while they were standing around Arch 22, the police asked them to leave and they complied by moving.<\/p>\n
She said on this day, the courtroom was full to capacity and they were asked to leave the court premises by the police. She said they stood around the Gambia Law School until the UDP leadership and co. were taken inside the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to cross to go around the Christian Cemetery around the Arch, but the police said we won\u2019t pass. This is where the problem started because we insisted that we must pass,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was push and pull because we insisted that we are going to pass. That was the time the police started hitting us with their batons,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She alleged that the police were headed by Commissioner Gorgi Mboob.<\/p>\n
\u201cSolo Krummah was hit on his head and he fell. He died sometime after he was taken to the hospital,\u201d she alleged.<\/p>\n
She also alleged that the police also hit a man on the eye which caused severe injuries on his face.<\/p>\n
She said they managed to pass the police and stood around the Cemetery. She said they later decided to go home but they couldn\u2019t get vehicles. She said they decided to walk back home but were caught by soldiers around the Bond Road in Banjul.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe soldiers were standing and they had two trucks. They asked us to enter their truck but we refused. They said we won\u2019t pass without entering their truck,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said they left Banjul by means of a truck carrying cashew nuts that brought them up to Jeshwang. She added that they decided to walk from Jeshwang to Westfield. She said on their way to Westfield, they were stopped at the PIU headquarters by paramilitary personnel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were walking from Jeshwang to Westfield but when we came around the PIU headquarters, a group of paramilitary personnel came and blocked our way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we approached them, we were saying \u201cwe want peace\u201d \u201cwe want peace\u201d and they opened the way for us to pass. They waited until we were in the middle, they beat us and started releasing tear gas,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was also beaten by two paramilitary personnel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said she escaped arrest and hid at the Jakaranda Restaurant in Westfield. She said after leaving Jakaranda, she went to Pipeline at the residence of Lawyer Ousainou Darboe. She said soldiers came and were insulting them.<\/p>\n
\u201cLamin Cham and President Adama Barrow were both there but they both ran and hid when the soldiers came leaving only women to face the soldiers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
About the Witness<\/p>\n
She said she was born on the 22nd\u00a0October 1986. She said she dropped out of school at grade 8 because she couldn\u2019t continue owing to financial issues.<\/p>\n
She said in 2001, she was on her way to attend the United Democratic Party (UDP) meeting in Tallinding. She said they were standing near Fabakary Tombong Jatta\u2019s residence waiting for Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, the UDP leader to welcome him. She said while standing, soldiers standing at the residence of the APRC\u2019s leader shot one boy standing with them on his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe boy was called Ousman Ceesay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said when Ousman was shot, the soldiers wanted to take the corpses but the UDP militants refused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the time the paramilitary started releasing tear gas and we all dispersed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said ex-Chief of Defense Staff Baboucar Jatta came and asked them to hand over the corpses, but left after the people refused to hand over the corpses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bintou Nyabally, a member of the \u201cKalama Revolution\u201d has alleged that she was raped by two paramilitary personnel at the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) headquarters in Kanifing. According to Nyabally, the \u201crevolution\u201d stood against former President Yahya Jammeh\u2019s iron-fisted style of governance. Nyabally is a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and she was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":2010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[1223,1222,1065,1224],"class_list":["post-2009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-a-member-of-the-kalama-revolution","tag-bintou-nyabally","tag-gambia-news-everyday","tag-police-intervention-unit-piu"],"yoast_head":"\n