Gambia arrests more soldiers, establishes an ‘investigation panel’ to look into coup attempt

• The Gambia has established an “investigative panel” to look into last week’s coup.
• The panel has been given 30 days to report back.
• Several soldiers were arrested over the weekend in connection with the alleged coup plot.

Following the arrest of several soldiers, The Gambia on Tuesday established an “investigative panel” and gave it 30 days to report back on last week’s coup attempt.

The administration said last Wednesday that it had foiled a coup attempt the day before and jailed certain military officers.

A captain and lieutenant were then arrested over the weekend and were “helping investigators unearth allegations of plans to overthrow the government of President Adama Barrow,” according to a Monday statement by government spokeswoman Ebrima Sankareh.

Five further troops have been detained. According to the authorities, at least two other individuals accused of playing a role in the coup attempt remain at large.

Momodou Sabally, a former minister of presidential affairs under former leader Yahya Jammeh, is also in jail after appearing in a video claiming the current president would be deposed prior to the next municipal elections.

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The United Democratic Party of Sabally has demanded his immediate release.

The 11-member inquiry panel was sworn in on Tuesday, with members from the justice ministry, office of national security, military forces, police, and intelligence agencies, according to a spokesman.

“Investigators have 30 days effective today to investigate, prepare and submit their report on the alleged coup plot,” Sankareh said in a statement.

Since 2020, a series of military takeovers in Mali, Guinea, and most recently Burkina Faso have shaken West Africa.

The instability and a wave of jihadist insurgency that has swept through the Sahel prompted leaders of the west African regional organization ECOWAS to resolve last month to establish an intervention force to reinforce stability.

The Gambia’s fragile democracy bears the scars of Jammeh’s horrific 22-year dictatorship.

He was defeated in December 2016 presidential elections by political newcomer Barrow and fled to Equatorial Guinea, but he retains influence at home.

53 percent of voters re-elected Barrow to a second five-year term in December 2021.

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