On Monday, the tenth of March, Gambians woke up to the news of a brutal murder of one Reuben Andrews a retired banker at Brufut Heights. The suspect, alleged to be the watchman of Mr Andrews, Mr Abdul Kamara, a Sierra Leonean national, is reported to have fled the country back to his native home.
Thus, the Gambia Police Force, in consultation with Interpol is seeking his extradition to the Gambia to face a charge of murder. It has been revealed that the Interpol office in Sierra Leone requested that a bench warrant be issued so that they can effect the arrest of Mr Kamara and repatriate him to The Gambia so that he could be tried for his alleged crime.
It is indeed worrying that someone could be found in his own house, tied up and brutally murdered just to do away with his wealth. It has been reported that a lot of money in various denominations was taken away from Mr Andrews’ house. With these types of incidents, citizens are frightened as no one knows when criminals may turn to your doorstep.
There is a need for the government to take a thorough look at the security issue and come up with ways of making the people safer in the country. Not only should the people have confidence that they are safe in their own country, but they should feel safe enough to go about their day-today activities without fear of being attacked either in the streets or in their homes.
It is clear that at the root of these attacks is greed for material wealth. This is largely precipitated by the woeful economic conditions the country and its people are facing currently. The cost of living is very high whereas the earning power of most people is pitiable. That is one of the main reasons for the constant insecurity people are observing.
Added to the problem of the economic conditions is the high rate of unemployment in the country. When youth are not employed and are idle, they might turn to drugs which require money thus they end up stealing or robbing people just to feed the habit. There is an acute need therefore for a holistic solution to the problem of security in the country.
