As the three counts criminal offence of treason, filed in by the state against the former CDS of GAF, Lang Tombong Tamba and seven other accused persons continues, more and more evidence concerning the offence continue to unfold before the High Court judge, Justice Emmanuel Amadi in Banjul.

The latest comes from the fourth accused person, Lt Colonel Kawsu Camara alias Bombardier, alleged to have been assigned the role of monitoring the movement of the Gambian leader, Sheikh professor Dr Alhagie Yahya Jammeh in Kanilai. Kawsu Camara, the fourth accused, informed the court that before the alleged November 2009 coup plot, he resided in Kanilai Village in the Foni Kansal District of the Western Region.

According to him, he enlisted into the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) on the 8th of August 1988 and started as a recruit. He said he climbed up the ranks such as Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Staff sergeant, Lieutenant and Lt Colonel before his arrest and detention on the 20th of November 2009.

The fourth accused further informed the court that he was posted to Kanilai Village as commander of State Guards Battalion. "As the commander of State Guards Battalion, I was in charge of the border patrol in Kanilai and at the same time responsible for the fuel transaction for the Kanilai Family Farm. I was also responsible for the mother of the president's security whenever she is travelling outside The Gambia.

As the officer-in-charge of Kanilai Family Farm, almost every two days I have to come to the Kombos, especially Serekunda at the Gampetroleum office located on the Kairaba Avenue to request fuel. This fuel collection included every day even weekends,? Kawsu Camara explained to the court, and went on to give an explanation about his weekend trips to the Kombos for the fuel collection.

According to him, whenever the president goes to Kanilai on a Friday, the following day being Saturday, he (Kawsu) travels to the Kombos to collect fuel for the president's convoy vehicles. He told the court that whenever he comes to the Kombos, his return to Kanilai depends on the duration of the fuel transaction. He added that sometimes he does spend 12 hours or the whole day before returning to Kanilai, because he has to get a clearance from the chief of Protocol through the president of the Republic.

About his relationship with the first accused
Kawsu Camara informed the court that he knew the first accused, Lang Tombong Tamba, since he was in primary school in Foni Jarrol District, where they both hailed from. He said he worked with Lang Tombong when the latter was the commander of the State Guards from 1995-2003, but never worked with him after 2003.

When asked as to whether he at any time interacted with the first accused after working hours, Kawsu Camara replied in the negative and said he was too junior for that, but acknowledged that he knows the Kololi residence of the first accused. He explained that when he returned from an overseas trip with the president's mother in 2007, after he dropped her at her residence in Kotu, he took a two-minute drive to the Kololi residence of the first accused, but he did not meet him. He said the wife of the first accused told him he went out, so he (Kawsu) left for Kanilai.

He denied knowing the Bijilo residence of the first accused, saying he doesn't even know where the place is located. Bombadier denied PW1 Ebrima Marreh's allegation that, he (Bombadier) visited the residence of the first accused three times for a meeting. He further denied claims by PW1 that he (Kawsu) was assigned during those meeting the role of monitoring the movement of the president. He then described the evidence of PW1 as completely false.

Further adducing his evidence-in-chief before the crowded court, Bombadier said he was too junior to the first accused and had never communicated with him. He denied allegations of PW1 Ebrima Marreh that he (Kawsu) conspired with the first accused and others to overthrow the democratically elected government of The Gambia.

On his arrest at the NIA office
The fourth accused said he was not arrested, but rather he was invited by the DG of NIA to answer to the office of the NIA in Banjul. "My lord, it was on the 20th of November 2009, at about 5:00pm when I received a call from the DG of NIA that I should report to the NIA office in Banjul, while I was escorting fuel for the Kanilai Family Farm, I then released the truck driver taking the fuel to Kanilai and I then turned my vehicle and went straight to the NIA office in Banjul," the fourth accused said.

He told the court that upon arrival at the NIA office, he waited for almost five hours before he was taken before a panel, where he met PW1 Ebrima Marreh and the panel inquired if he (Kawsu) knows PW1 to which he replied in the affirmative and told the panel he only knew the PW1 as Ebrima, but he could not remember his surname. According to Kawsu Camar, he informed the panel that PW1 stole a cheque from the wife of the first accused, and as a result he was arrested and taken to the Fajara Barracks in March 2008.

"I further informed the panel that some years back in Kanilai,  PW1 broke and entered into the house of the late Major Musa Jammeh,  and stole the sum of US$300. I told the panel that, I with some officers arrested PW1 and the said US$300 was found in his possession after the interrogation in the presence of Yankuba Colley the present mayor of KMC, Bakary Camara, ex-orderly to the president and Buba Darboe, a convoy driver. After the arrest PW1 was taken to the Kanfenda Police Station for further investigation and he confessed that he hails from Bwiam Village.

His parents were called and they confirmed that he is their son. They (the parents) pleaded for mercy, because at the time PW1 was a juvenile. I told the parents to see the late Musa Jammeh as the victim of the PW1 and the parents saw Musa Jammeh, who gave condition that PW1 should not visit the entire Kanilai Village, most especially the president's area," Kawsu told the court and went to narrate that, since that day, he did not see PW1 until 2007, when PW1 called him and introduced himself as the boy whom, he (Kawsu) arrested for breaking and stealing.

According to the defence witness, the PW1 said he wanted to apologise for illegally breaking and stealing from a private house of the late Musa Jammeh. Further commenting on the said phone call, Kawsu told the court that the PW1 informed him that he (PW1) has privatised his (Kawsu) telephone number so that whenever he (Kawsu) calls nobody will see his number. At this juncture Kawsu Camara cited his number as 777588, which was privatised by the PW1 at the Ariel, and said he immediately ordered the PW1 to revock it without delay, but the PW1 instead switched off his mobile phone.

According to the witness, he assigned his officers to trace the PW1, but he was nowhere to be seen, until some times in the year 2008, during a programme held at Sheraton Hotel on the Brufut Heights as part of activities marking the 22nd July Anniversary, which his wife attended and the wife told him that she saw PW1.

The Sheraton encounter with Bombadier's wife and  PW1
Explaining the circumstances surrounding the encounter that his wife had with PW1 at the Sheraton Hotel, Kawsu Camara said on the day in question, while he was in Kanilai, his wife called to inform him that a boy came to her table and introduced himself as Ebrima Bojang and claimed one Pa Bojang, a nephew of the president sent him to her to ask her hand in marriage and if she accepts the said Pa Bojang?s proposal he will marry her within 48 hours, but his wife replied that she is already married.
 
According to Kawsu, Buba Darboe was present when PW1 was speaking to his wife. Kawsu further revealed that the said Buba Darboe was present when PW1 was arrested in Kanilai after breaking into the house of the late Musa Jammeh. At that juncture the DPP objected to the evidence given by the fourth accused as hearsay on the ground that it is irrelevant to the issue at hand.

Defence counsel SM Tambedou countered that the evidence adduced by the witness is relevant to the case and not hearsay. He cited Section 19 (b) of the Evidence Act and pointed out that the evidence of the fourth accused would help for the purpose of establishing the truth. The judge overruled the DPP and urged the witness to continue with his evidence.

Continuing with his evidence, the witness said on the 23rd of July 2008, his wife called and informed him that PW1 and one Dahaba came to her residence, but this piece of evidence was stopped by the judge.  According to Kawsu on the 24th of July 2008,  he visited his wife's residence and the wife told him that, PW1 came to her residence with one Dahaba.  "Its not true that the PW1 spent a night with me in Kanilai on his alleged way to Farafeni and its not also true that PW1 called me on the 19th of November 2009 and I did not speak to him after the 19th of November 2009," Bombadier said. He acknowledged that he knows the second accused Omar Bun Mbye, saying he had a working relationship with him while they were serving members of GAF, but had no relationship with him outside work.

Work relationship with the third accused
Kawsu Camara told the court that he had a working relationship with the third accused, BO Badjie as they were in the same unit at the State Guards from 1995-2003, but they had no relationship outside work. He said he knows the fifth accused, Modou Gaye as they once served in the former Gendermarie unit from  the 18th of August 1988 to 1989 and apart from that period they had no working relationship.

On the sixth accused
Kawsu Camara said he once worked with the sixth accused, Ngorr Secka, when the latter was working under the Office of the President from 1989-1993 and after that they had no working  relationship. He further informed the court that he does not know the seventh accused, Abdoulie Joof and had never conspired with any of the accused persons to overthrow the government of The Gambia. He also said he does not know the eighth accused, Youssef Ezeedine, but recalled seeing him at state functions.

The trip to the DPP's office
Bombadier said on the 12th of February 2010, he and the sixth accused were removed from the Mile 2 Prisons and taken to the NIA office from where he was led to the DPP's office. "At the DPP's office, he asked me whether I am a soldier, I told him yes. The DPP told me that you soldiers tell lies too much and you never want to tell the truth. He then produced an NIA form and he told me to write and accept my involvement in the alleged coup plot if I want to be free.

The DPP said if I write my statement and accepted my involvement he will release me. The DPP further told me that the seventh accused accepted that he was the one who was supposed to clear the arms and ammunition ship. I told the DPP that I don't even know the seventh accused and you are talking to me about the seventh accused. I then told the DPP that you are illegally forcing me to lie, at this juncture the DPP shouted on top of his voice saying officers - officers come and take this man out," Kawsu Camara explained to the court. This marked the end of his evidence-in-chief, which was followed by cross-examination by the DPP.

Cross-examination by the DPP
Responding to the questions from the DPP, the witness denied allegations that he got the nickname Bombadier in the course of the alleged coup plot so that he can bombard the president with mortar bombs. He also strongly denied he was assigned the role of monitoring the president's movement in Kanilai, so that the coup plotters can launch an attack on him.

Kawsu further denied that the DPP offered him to accept his involvement in the coup so as to use him as a prosecution witness. "My lord the DPP never mentioned to me that if you accept your involvement you will be used as a prosecution witness. It is not also true that the DPP told me that the state is not interested in persecuting any of the accused persons. The DPP was forcing me to tell lies," Kawsu Camara told the court.

When asked by the DPP whether he wanted to use his position in Kanilai to monitor the movement of the president, Kawsu replied in the negative and said that is not true. He denied having information about when the president is coming in or going out of Kanilai, because he was not the ADC to the president. He further told the court that he was not neither the convoy commander nor the bodyguard commander, and so would not know when the president is either coming in or going out of Kanilai.

Kawsu Camara accepted that he indicated in his statement that he was close to the president and was like a son to the president, but again denied the DPP's allegation that he (Kawsu) wanted to use that opportunity to know the movement of the president in Kanilai. He further denied allegation of embezzling the fuel funds for the Kanilai Family Farm. According to him, no physical money was issued for collection of the said fuel. The witness denied receiving a phone call from PW1 on the 19th of November, while the PW1 was arrested in Farafeni Barracks.

He said PW1 never slept over the night in his house in Kanilai and insisted that PW1 was not prosecuted for breaking into and stealing from the house of the late Major Musa Jammeh, because at the time PW1 was a juvenile and as a result his parents agreed to an undertaking that he will never visit Kanilai again in his life. Kawsu narrated that he was not aware of the existence of any children's court in Kanifing as suggested by the DPP. He also maintained that the theft case involving the PW1 was recorded at the Kanfenda police station.

The fourth accused, Kawsu Camara, further responding to the DPP's question, informed the court that he was not aware of any evidence given by the commander of Farafeni Barrcks with regards to a theft compliant against the PW1, but insisted that PW1 stole a cheque belonging to the wife of the first accused and he (PW1) also stole the US$300 belonging to the late Musa Jammeh in Kanilai.

Kawsu Camara denied the allegation of the DPP that the first accused, Lang Tombong Tamba was so corrupt that money was like water in his house, as such the PW1 stole the money. According to the witness he went to the Ariel GSM company to confirm the privatisation of his mobile number by the PW1 and discovered that the PW1 used his (PW1) name on the said number.  He revealed that the PW1 was nowhere to be seen despite he (Kawsu) assigned his men to search for him.

The witness said he only saw the PW1 at his (Kawsu) wedding but in an attempt to get him arrested he disappeared. Kawsu Camara further told the court that he was with some of the loyal soldiers during the foiled 2006 coup plot. He finally denied allegations that he conspired with the accused persons to overthrow the democratically elected government of The Gambia.