Lt. General Lang Tombong Tamba and the others were accused of conspiring to stage a coup d’etat and overthrow the President and democratically-elected government of The Gambia by force of arms.
The seven were convicted and sentenced to death by the high court on conspiracy and treason charges on 15 July 2010. Their death sentences were, however, commuted to life in prison on 12 November 2014 by the Supreme Court.
The seven convicts are Lt. General Lang Tombong Tamba, Brigadier General Omar Bun Mbye, former director of operations and training at GAF, Col. Lamin Bo Badjie, former NIA director, Modou Gaye, former deputy IGP, Gibril Ngorr Secka, former deputy Gambian Ambassador to Guinea Bissau, Lt. Col. Kawsu Camara alias Bombardier, former commander of Kanilai Camp, and Abdoulie Joof, a businessman.
Lawyer Tambadou, who acted for and represented them as their lawyer from March 2010 to November 2014, said he was moved to make this appeal for clemency to President Jammeh by the dictates of his conscience.
“I have not been instructed or directed by any of them to make a petition on their behalf; I only do so by the dictate of my conscience, belief in Allah (SWT) and hope in Your Excellency,” he said in a letter to President Jammeh on 18 November 2014.
The letter of Counsel Tambadou who is also a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia reads:
Your Excellency,
It is with greatest respect and the utmost humility that I make this petition of clemency and mercy on behalf of Abdoulie Joof, Gibril (Ngor) Secka, Omar Bun Mbye, Kawsu Camara, Modou Gaye, Lamin Bo Badgie and Lang Tombong Tamba.
I wish to state from the onset that my petition is personal, and in exercise of the limited right I have and enjoy as a citizen of The Gambia. Any right I might have or enjoy as a Gambian is, and must be subjected to greater right and good of the people of The Gambia, but in making a request for pardon for the above-mentioned, I envisage a benefit for their families and relatives who are Gambians.
From March 2010 to November 2014, I acted for and represented the above-named as their lawyer up to the Supreme Court of The Gambia. I have not been instructed or directed by any of them to make a petition on their behalf; I only do so by the dictate of my conscience, belief in Allah (SWT) and hope in Your Excellency.
In September 2013, I forwarded a petition made by my clients to Your Excellency, and I received a reply under reference number PR/C/360/TEMP. B(4) dated 30th December 2013.
Your Excellency has been at the helm of stewardship of the affairs of The Gambia for twenty years now. I take this opportunity to congratulate you for your achievements for The Gambia. Your Excellency’s leadership of this country is not coincidental, but I sincerely believe that it is by Divine will and Ordainment.
You may not be pleasing to all, but we are enjoined by Allah (SWT) to follow you as our leader. Qur’an 4:60 “O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey His Messenger and those who are in authority among you…”
When it is Allah who has chosen you as leader for us, it does not lie in the wish of a few to thwart what Allah has decided, and what the majority of Gambians desire. The fact that my clients were able to enjoy and pursue their rights to defend themselves and exhaust their appeals to the highest court in the country, is in no small measure thanks to your respect for the rule of law and non-interference with the Judiciary
The courts have spoken, my clients have been condemned for trying to change what the Gambians chose and Allah’s Will. The prerogative of mercy which Allah has, he has placed in your capable hands to exercise over the people of The Gambia, and it is this mercy that I pray for from you, Your Excellency, on behalf of not only Abdoulie Joof, Gibril Ngorr Seck, Omar Bun Mbye, Kawsu Camara, Modou Gaye, Lamin Bo Badgie and Lang Tombong Tamba but also their families, relatives and loved ones.
I truly believe that they have learnt lessons, and in any event, they cannot harm you. Exercising mercy on them will only increase your stature to the Gambians and the world at large, and further demonstrate that you will punish those deserving to be punished, but will also forgive so that both will serve as a deterrence to others.
I regret any inconvenience that my petition may cause to Your Excellency.
With the highest consideration
I remain yours faithfully
Signed:
SHERIFF MARIE TAMBADOU
