The restructuring of the State Intelligence Services hierachy was effected following the testimony of the Director General Ousman Sowe at the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) on January 7, 2021.
The Truth Commission is investigating past abuses of the former regime in which the State Intelligence Services, which was then called the National Intelligence Agency has been complicit and deeply involved in gross rights abuses and constitutional violations.
Rights groups and pro-democracy campaigners are frowning upon the decision of the State Intelligence Services’ action to repurpose and refurbish torture chambers in the NIA head office, which they decried to be tampering with evidence that should have been preserved.
The new promotions are as follows: Pa Musa Jobarteh maintains his position as Deputy Director General 1; Abdou Jallow, the Director of External Security has been promoted as the Deputy Director General 2; Saidy Gassama, Director of Internal Security is now Deputy Director General 3.
Meanwhile, Alhagie Ceesay, the Officer Commanding (OC) of Strategies is now Director of Analysis Unit and Ousman Darboe, OC of North Bank Region has now been confirmed as Regional Director.
Both Jallow and Gassama will maintain their roles as External and Internal Affairs directors in addition to their deputy director portfolios. President Adama Barrow and the Personnel Management Office (PMO) have reportedly approved the restructuring with the promotions.
Note: The author Assan Sallah is a Gambian journalist living in Germany. He was news editor and a security affairs correspondent for the Daily Observer.
