Dr.
Badara Loum on Monday 2 March 2020 continued his testimony before the TRRC,
giving account of what had happened to him during his Mile 2 detention and how
he was taken to court where he was acquitted and discharged.
He
said he was taken to State Central Prison (Mile 2) during the night, saying he
told the prison officer to put on the light but he was reminded that he was in
maximum security wing.
“Every
Thursday, the prison officers used to share the meat that was meant for the
prisoners. Lot of people died as a result of disease contamination. At the
prison, they were promoting ethnicity and the Jolas were given privileges.”
He
added that Walf Kujabi who was responsible for checking their health, behaved
like he didn’t study medicine. He said their food was very bad and as a result,
many fell sick from ‘beriberi’.
He
testified that Lamin Sanneh, an architect who drew the plan for the Brikama
highway and many bridges, died after he was released from Mile 2.
The
former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, said he was very
angry for his detention, while blaming former president, Yahya Jammeh for what
had happened. He added that he was not given the right to have access to a
lawyer during his stay at the prison.
At
NIA, he told the commission that he was interrogated about the issue of the
fertilizer that was sold.
He
said lawyers, Amie Bensouda and Haddy Danda helped him secure his liberty after
70 days at the prison without charges. He said his service as permanent
secretary was terminated while he was in prison.
Dr.
Loum revealed that he was subsequently charged with economic crime in a court
of law. He however said he was exonerated by an audit report, having been
prosecuted for five years. He lamented he was not able to travel or regain
employment.
Dr.
Loum further indicated that Amie Joof Conteh acquitted and discharged him on 16
January 2012.
He
continued that after he was discharged, he requested for his passport from the
office of president but he was told that a passport was the property of the
state and therefore he should write to the Ministry of the Interior instead. He
said he later managed to get another passport which helped him to travel and
worked for Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
In
his concluding remarks, he thanked those that helped him during his detention,
most especially the lawyers who represented him in court.
