By Tabora Bojang
Ousman Manneh, a resident of Mandinaring who claimed he was present during the arrest of Omar Badjie, who died after an encounter with the police, claimed the 27-year-old was “beaten to death” by the four officers.
In their version, the police reported that Badjie “fell during hot pursuit and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead”.
However, Ousman Manneh said he saw the police pursue, arrest and beat Omar into consciousness.
He narrated that on Friday between 9 and 10am, Omar and some boys who were smoking marijuana ran away when approached by a four-officer patrol team led by a CID officer from the Mandinaring Police Post.
He said the officers pursued them and Omar was found hiding in the bushes. According to Manneh, the officers descended on him and beat him before he was put in cuffs and dragged along the ground.
Manneh said he could see boot marks all over Omar’s face.
He claimed a woman who saw the officers hit Omar with a stick on his neck ran to him wailing: “These people have killed Omar already!”
He said he suspected the officers had broken Omar’s neck because it appeared collapsed on one side. “When I saw that, I confided to a friend that Omar was not going to come back to life. I knew he was going to die because his neck was dislocated,” Manneh told Kerr Fatou online news site.
He said despite Omar’s perilous condition, the officers wanted to take him to the police station but he and other people insisted they take him to the hospital.
He said when they arrived at the health centre, Omar was put in an ambulance and taken to the hospital where he was certified dead.
Day-long protest, public disturbances
Omar’s death sparked widespread outrage as community members rejected police narration of events. On Friday night, the youths attacked the Mandinaring Police Post, vandalised its furniture and burnt it down. The PIU officers deployed threw tear gas and arrested at least 19 youths.
On Saturday morning, hundreds of people including Omar’s relatives and friends as well as community members took to the streets calling for the release of their detainees. From Mandinaring they marched to Lamin, along the highway holding placards and chanting: “Justice for Omar!” as they marched towards the Banjulinding Police Station. However, they met a troop of PIU officers stationed on the highway who tear gassed them, ensuing in day-long skirmishes. The youths spent the day throwing stones at the PIU, burning tyres and other objects on the road. As tension escalated, the authorities released the detained youths. Black smoke was visible in Lamin throughout the day and the tear gas affected many people who were assisted by Red Cross volunteers. The protesters also vandalised the Abuko traffic police post.
Several people were arrested including activist Alieu Bah who while in a police van narrated that he was not part of the protesters but was “only standing on the roadside smoking cigarettes” when a police officer approached and informed him that he was under arrest. Bah was later released with other detainees.
NHRC calls for independent investigation
The National Human Rights Commission in a statement issued yesterday extended its condolences to the family of the late Omar and urged that their rights, including access to timely and accurate information on the circumstances of his death, be fully respected. The commission said considering the conflicting accounts, the gravity of the allegations, and the sanctity of life guaranteed by the Constitution of The Gambia, the police need to urgently establish a task force to include independent oversight to thoroughly and impartially investigate Omar’s death without undue delay and that the findings be made public.
The NHRC further observed with deep concerns the “recurring incidents of arbitrary conduct” by police during public assemblies and the indiscriminate firing of teargas by the PIU which often exacerbate tensions. “The Gambia Police Force is reminded that arbitrary arrest and the disproportionate use of force deprive individuals of their inherent dignity and violate fundamental rights protected under both national law and international instruments ratified by The Gambia,” the commission said.
