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Momodou
Denmark
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 Posted - 20 Oct 2007 : 17:29:18
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Rambo Narrates His Ordeal
By Fabakary B. Ceesay
Councillor Ousman Jatta (alias Rambo) who was incarcerated for 387 days without trial, explained his ordeal in an exclusive interview he granted this reporter on Sunday, 14 September at his house at Bakau Jatta Kunda, where a crowd of relatives, friends and supporters gathered to show solidarity. Mr. Jatta said while he was at his office at Cape Point on 23 September, six security officers came with a Mercedes Benz (190) without number plates. He said they asked him to follow them to Bakau Police Station. He said he demanded for reasons, but they told him that he would be informed upon arrival at the station. Rambo indicated that among the six officers he knew are Sergeant Busso of PIU, who was the driver, Pateh Bah of Interpol, Lamin Sambou, the then orderly to the former IGP Musa Mboob and three others whose names he did not know, but he can recognise them. He said it was Sergeant Busso who told him that he was needed at the Bakau Police Station. He noted that two other officers joined him in his car and they drove to the station.
Councillor Jatta said upon arrival at the station, there was a push and pull among the officers and that he realized that something was wrong. Rambo explained that he was later asked to join the numberless car and that when he enquired again as to where he was being taken to, they told him that he would know when they reach the destination. Councillor Jatta said he was escorted to Gunjur Police Station in Kombo South where he was incarcerated in a cell with a leaking roof.
He said on his second night in the cell, he was soaked in rain and could not lie on the wet floor. He said he sat in a corner in order to avoid the rain.
He said on the fourth day, he was stricken by malaria and was left without any treatment for four days before a police medical doctor came to attend to him; that he spent one and a half week at Gunjur Police Station before he was moved to Sinbanor Police Station in the Foni. Councillor Jatta explained that at Sibanor, he met one Master Tamba Fofana, whom he shared the same cell with; that he had spent three weeks and some days in Sibanor Police Cell before he was transferred to Fatoto Police Station in the far end of the country in the Upper River Region.
Jatta lamented the bad condition of the road to Fatoto. He explained that he was threatened on the way to Fatoto by one of his escorts who was brandishing a pistol. He explained that while he was in Sibanor he was suffering from a spinal problem and was not given medical attention. He added that it was in this condition that he was moved to Fatoto. He noted that when they arrived at Fatoto, his escorts told the police that he is a state detainee. Going further, Jatta said he was immediately put in a cell for one week; that a doctor later came to attend to his ailment. Rambo said that the cell at Fatoto police station is the worst cell he had ever been incarcerated in or seen; that he contracted malaria for almost a week at Fatoto. He said this was due to the bad condition of the cell. The Councillor noted that he spent two months and three days at Fatoto Police Station and was constantly kept in the cell. He said that it was on 28 December 2006 that he was taken to Sare Ngai Police Station where he spent the rest of his ordeal .He said he was detained there for a period of nine months and three weeks. Mr. Jaata explained that Sare Ngai was very tough for him, noting that it was there that he developed haemorrhoid (commonly called pile), adding that he also suffered from urinal complications and spine problem. He said he got no medical attention throughout his detention at the Sare Ngai Station. Councillor Jatta stated that throughout his detention, from Gunjur to Sare Ngai, he was never given food three times in a day. He said there were instances when some officers sympathized with him and shared their food with him, but that there were also others who behaved very arrogantly towards him and never shared anything with him. He said there were instances when some prisoners also shared their food with him, that the water he used for drinking and bath had to be provided by somebody else, but not the police officers. Rambo explained that he did not observe the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan this year but that he did so last year; that he was only able to fast for three days this year because he was stricken by malaria; that he was taken to Yorro Bawol Health Centre for treatment. He explained that on the day of his release, Friday 12 October, he was sitting in a cell when an officer came and opened the door of the cell and told him that the officer in charged of the station got orders from the IGP that he should be immediately released unconditionally. Councillor Ousman Jatta finally called on his supporters to be law abiding; that he would never betray their trust; that he had taken a journey of no return.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 122/2007, 17 - 18 October, 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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