All police personnel involved in Omar Badjie’s death have been suspended until authorities conduct an independent inquiry into the matter, according to Interior Minister Abdoulie Sanyang.
Members of the patrol team engaged in the event are currently being questioned in Banjul, Minister Sanyang stated during a Sunday visit to the Badjie family in Mandinaring.
“Everyone who was on the patrol team has been suspended; I’m not sure how many. And we are doing interviews with them right now in Banjul,” he said.
The family received assurances from Minister Sanyang that the probe would be conducted independently and completely transparently. He disclosed that court proceedings, which will be public, will be presided over by a magistrate.
“The case will be heard by a magistrate who will be accessible to the public.” We want the investigation to be impartial so that everyone is aware of what happened, so the police will not conduct it,” he stated.
Additionally, he mentioned that the family will have direct representation during the postmortem procedure, with a representative in attendance to watch the procedures and listen to medical experts.
“The family will have a representative to witness what happened and hear directly from medical professionals, and every part of the investigation will be carried out independently,” he said.
The minister claims that the National Security Adviser, the Director of the State Intelligence Services, the Inspector General of Police, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister for the Presidency have already received briefings.
He went on to say that he had discussed the situation with President Adama Barrow over 20 times and that the president was extremely concerned.
“The president is saddened by this and is unsure of what to do because this is not supposed to happen,” he said when I spoke with him yesterday.
No one, not even the president, is above the law, Minister Sanyang emphasized. “We are come to offer the Badjie Kunda family our condolences. Even the president is subject to the law, he said. “If you do something that is against the law, what the law says is what will happen.”
He stated that he will formally seek the Ministry of Justice to start a coroner’s inquest on Monday in order to ascertain the circumstances behind Badjie’s death.
“A coroner’s inquest will be established; the police will not conduct this investigation,” he said in closing.
