Police react to ‘false information’ on sacking of 1st Class Constable

It has come to the notice of the Office of the Inspector General of Police that some people are posting information in the social media (Facebook) with regard to the discharge of a female police officer, from the Gambia Police Force.

According to reports on social media, “1st Class Constable Fatoumatta Jallow is discharged from the Police Force for not going to Ex-President Jammeh’s Kanilai farms during last year rainy season”.

These reports are unfounded and sound ridiculous. It does not make an iota of sense for any police officer to be discharged or punished in this era for the former president, when they could have been punished adequately during his regime.

In fact, there is no charge sheet amongst the numerous charge sheets in Fatoumatta Jallow personal file that connects to Kanilai farm.

The fact of the matter is, the Gambia Police Force is undergoing a major transformation to match international standards. As a result, the new police command being aware of the fact that the GPF cannot match those international standards without a highly discipline force, embarked on rejuvenating the police disciplinary code of conduct and enforcing it to the letter.

In the Police code, every police constable is subjected to re-engagement (renewal of service) after completion of his /her first five years. For the application of the renewal to be approved, the applicant’s file is exposed to scrutiny to confirm that he/she is highly discipline to continue serving. If the applicant’s file is dirty, in other words full of charge sheets (more than four Charge Sheets) which is an indication of indiscipline, then the person’s application will be turned down because members of the police force are expected to have a high sense of discipline to be able to serve the community as expected.

Thus, during one of the usual morning parades (briefings) at the police headquarters, the office of the IGP warned the affected constables to start working on their re-engagement. This same message was carried on the Force Order for the information to reach to all police officers.

Coincidentally, Fatoumatta Jallow amongst others applied for re-engagement. When their personal files were properly scrutinised it was unfortunate that Fatoumatta was found wanting, because her personal file contained more than 8 charge sheets all of which have nothing to do with Kanilai.

Because of the above reason, on Wednesday 19 July 2017, Fatoumatta was discharged from the roll of the Gambia Police Force.

Subsequently, the office of the Inspector General of Police re-assures the general public that this exercise is nowhere near witch-hunting or targeting certain individuals. It is generally applicable to all constables who are subjected to re-engagement for another five years.

Therefore, the office warns all those who are due for re-engagement to apply. The exercise is only aimed at ensuring that the rules in the disciplinary code of conduct is enforced to the letter so as to bring maximum discipline to the Force, to achieve effective and efficient service delivery to all Gambians and residents of The Gambia.