The State Intelligence Service (SIS) of the Gambia continues to make more redeployments recently, LamToro News has learned.
Edward Mendy, the Officer Commanding (OC) SIS Operations has been redeployed to serve as First Secretary at the Gambian Embassy in Sierra Leone. Another senior officer, Alhagie Ceesay of the Analysis Unit is being moved to the Gambian Mission in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to serve as Liaison Officer (LO).
Sources also hinted that Intelligence officer Lamin Ndure was redeployed to the Gambian Embassy in Morocco to serve as a driver to the First Secretary, Edward Mendy. Mr. Ndure was the official driver of Mr. Ousman Sowe, the SIS Director General when he was serving as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment some years ago. When Ousman Sowe was appointed Director General of SIS in 2017, he redeployed Mr. Ndure from the Environment Ministry to serve as his official driver at the SIS.
Meanwhile, Samba Jallow alias Batcho the Juju man is now the director of Internal Security.
“Batcho is a seasoned officer, he joined the service in the days of the National Security Services (NSS) during the First Republic. He derived the nickname Juju man simply because he always comes to work with a black bag, containing a lot of jujus,“ said one of the sources.
In a separate move, one Mr. Ceesay, an intelligence officer who, according to sources, had refused to cooperate with the prosecution team in the Solo Sandeng’s trial headed by Lawyer Antouman Gaye, was re-instated.
It is alleged that Mr. Ceesay refused to give evidence in the Solo Sandeng’s trial investigation and the prosecution team led by Antouman Gaye wrote a recommendation to the SIS to reprimand Mr. Ceesay, but he was re-instated as 2nd in command at SIS Operation under Edward Mendy.
Mr. Ceesay has been accused of sacrificing his junior staff Gora Njie who was arrested and detained but later released. Njie is now attached to Egyptian diplomats based in Bijilo. The said Egyptian officials are in the country to process the creation of an Egyptian Embassy. Currently, LamToro News has gathered information that the SIS drivers Ansu Manga and Gibril alias Jabrang, together with two intelligence officers, in the persons of Gora Njie and Papa Louis Mendy are posted at these Egyptian diplomats‘ residences.
Meanwhile, the former OC of Protocol Fatou Sanneh was also redeployed sometime ago to the Gambian Embassy in Dakar. She replaced Mustapha Touray.
WHAT A JOKE GAMBIA’S RAGTAG STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE IS, AN ORGANIZATION OF MISFITS AND UNEDUCATED CRIMINALS. YES I SAID IT AND THE EVIDENCE IS ALL OUT THERE FOR EVERY ONE TO SEE. THE SAME CRIMINALS WHO WERE SERVING IN THE NIA ARE THE SAME RECYCLES IN THE SIS. FORMER TAXI DRIVERS, FORMER JUKBREW WORKERS, FORMER POLICEMENT, FORMER GNA SOLDIERS, SECONDARY SCHOOL GRADUATES, DRIVERS FROM THE MINISTRY OF THIS AND THAT; IS THIS WHAT AN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE IS?
THE STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE NEED TO BE DISBANDED TOTALLY, A NEW ORGANIZATION SET UP WHERE EVERYONE WHO WILL DEAL WITH INTELLIGENCE WILL BE REQUIRED TO BE UNIVERSITY OR AT LEAST AN EXCELLENT SENIOR SECONDARY GRADUATE. THEN TRAIN ALL OF THEM RIGOROUSLY AND ESTABLISH STANDARDS OF SERVICE, ETHICS, WHICH WHEN VIOLATED WILL HAVE SERIOUS CIVIL AND/OR CRIMINAL REPERCUSSIONS.