By Tabora Bojang
Journalist and social media influencer Bakary Mankajang who was called for questioning by the police and detained incommunicado for three days before being slammed with a charge of interference with witnesses, has said he was deprived of food, water and access to legal representative during his detention at the Police Anti-Crime Unit.
Mankajang who has over 70,000 followers on TikTok was called for questioning Thursday following his return from Diololou in Casamance where he interviewed people in connection with the arrest of the principal suspect in the murder of police officers.
Since he went to Faji Kunda Police Station, his whereabouts remained unknown until Friday afternoon when a family member confirmed seeing him behind bars at the Anti-Crime offices in Banjulinding.
Mankajang told The Standard yesterday: “When I arrived at the Faji Kunda station Thursday, I was not questioned about anything. They told me that the investigative panel was stationed at the Anti-Crime offices and I was subsequently taken there. To my dismay, when I got there, they did not ask any question. I only heard officers saying I should be kept incommunicado. And they went ahead and locked me up in the cell. They did not provide me with breakfast, lunch or dinner. They did not allow anyone to see me or talk to me.”
Asked what the police wanted to know from him and also about his purported interviews, Mankajang said there was no mention of his interviews and the police did not request to view them.
Asked if he was also warned against releasing his interviews on his platform, he said the police did not give any such instructions.
“They only came [Saturday] to take my statement and I told them I needed to consult my lawyers and after I did the necessary consultations, I told them that I am not going to write any statement or make any comments about the matter and if they wished we could meet in court. So, I left. But they retained my travel documents and asked me to report today [Monday].”
