He admitted that Saidy Bah, then Secretary General, a civilian, played a decisive role in ordering him to the MSA premises.
“As far as I am concerned, when I was wearing this uniform, I took an oath. I take orders from my superiors,” Jagne said. “But Mr. Bah told me the items at Kotu needed securing, and my command agreed I should go.”
Hon. Omar Jammeh, member of the committee warned that his testimony suggested dangerous precedent with soldiers bypassing the military hierarchy to take instructions from civilians.
“You cannot sit before this committee and tell us you were obtaining orders from a civilian against a military task. That is unacceptable!”
He accused the sergeant of deliberately withholding the truth about who officially sanctioned his deployment.
They pressed him to name his immediate commander in the chain of the army, but Jagne insisted it was “an attachment” based on a “Part One Order”, a routine notice board posting, rather than a formal transfer.
When asked why he, the most junior officer in the Vehicle Control Unit at State House was chosen for such a sensitive duty, Jagne could not provide a convincing explanation.
His constant back-and-forth left the committee unconvinced. “You are hiding a lot from us,” Hon Jammeh bluntly declared.
The Chair of the Committee, Hon Abdoulie Ceesay reminded him: “This committee has questioned former ministers. We will not be intimidated by a uniform. You must give frank answers.”
The exchange grew so tense that the chair warned Jagne of “consequences” if he continued to be evasive.
