Gambian authorities have charged three people – two civilians and a military officer – with «conspiracy» in connection with an alleged coup attempt dismantled in December.
The three have also been charged with «concealing treason», for which they have been denied bail. These charges mean that the defendants could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
The accused are Mustapha Jabbi, Saikou Gassama and Fabakary Jawara, who rejected the charges on Tuesday during a visit to a court in the capital, Banjul, according to the Gambian daily ‘Foroyaa’.
Authorities believe that the three suspects conspired among themselves and failed to inform the government of the existence of a plan to overthrow the president, Adama Barrow after military officer Sanna Fadera revealed to them the plans about the plot.
Gambian National Security Advisor Abubacarr Jeng revealed on 29 December that the authorities were investigating the possible involvement of civilians in the plot because the plotters had allegedly held clandestine meetings with the collaboration of civilians.
Gambian government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh announced on December 21 the arrest of four soldiers who were «planning to overthrow the democratically elected government of the president». A few days later three other soldiers suspected of involvement in the plan were arrested.
Barrow was sworn in January for a second term after the Supreme Court rejected at the end of December the appeal filed by the main opposition candidate against the official results of the elections of December 4, 2021.
The president won re-election despite the fact that this meant breaking his promise of only three years in office — which expired in 2020 — after reaching a controversial alliance with the party of former dictator Yahya Jamé and after some allies left his side to run against him.
The incumbent, who claimed victory in December 2016 after running as an independent with the support of Jamé’s opposition groups, was sworn in in January 2017 after the dictator went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after initially rejecting his defeat, leading to a threat of military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
