A former commander of the state guards stationed at Kanilai village, Lieutenant Colonel Solo Bojang, has finally been released on Friday, 22 January, 2017 around 10pm, after being incarcerated for a long time, according to a family source.
By Mustapha Jallow
Fatou Bojang, told this reporter through phone yesterday, that her husband is finally back home but that he is still ill and currently undergoing treatment. ‘‘He looks so weak and lacks clear vision as he was kept in a dark cell. If he coughs his sputum shows traces of blood. Marks of injuries could be seen criss-crossing his back. As for now he is undergoing examination at the hospital and we are also trying local treatment,’’ she disclosed.
Lt. Col. Bojang, erstwhile manager of the Kanilai Family Farms (KFF) and a close aide of ex-president, Yaya Jammeh, was arraigned before the Brikama Magistrates’ Court on 12 May, 2014 and charged with three counts of ‘Abuse of office’, ‘Conspiracy’, ‘Theft’ and ‘False information’. He was acquitted and discharged on all except one charge which was False Information and for which he was convicted and fined D50, 000. The family told this medium that the fine was immediately paid but that their loved one was nonetheless escorted out of the courtroom by the security that whisked him away to an unknown destination.
He was not freed by the Court but detained for months upon which he was taken to a court-martial and sentenced to one year imprisonment. Upon completion of this one year term he was again sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. The charges against him were not known to the public since the media was not allowed to cover the proceedings.
The source added, ‘‘We were allowed to visit him at the prison on 27 September, while I was with him at the prison, he was complaining about one of his legs which he said is seriously paining him,” she disclosed”. Their calls on the authorities to release him on medical grounds fell on deaf ears.