One of Africa’s smallest national armies is fighting for its reputation as an apolitical entity thanks to its troubled history under former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh.
Under a new democratic environment, The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) wished to be seen in the light of how far its had gone to redeem itself being associated with the excesses of the past.
Thus its sensibilities were piqued when two public figures running commentaries of the current political situation in the country used the GAF as an inappropriate example to articulate their thoughts.
What followed was a statement on Tuesday showing the GAF taking serious exception to ‘misleading and potentially incendiary’ remarks attributed to Samsudeen Sarr, a former army commander and Essa Mbye Faal, lawyer aiming for a second shot at the presidency in 2026.
The reaction from spokesman Colonel Lamin K. Sanyang points to what he calls a ”growing trend of unfounded and irresponsible commentary” in the media and public discourse over the GAF’s role, conduct and modus operandi.
The statement presents a rebuttal of Mr. Sarr’s inference over an isolated theft incident last year, involving personnel from the Senegalese Gendarmerie, who were part of President Adama Barrow’s security detail under the ECOMIG peacekeeping mission.
Col Sanyang accuses the retired army officer of ”narratives framed in a manner that seeks to misrepresent the professionalism, role, and apolitical nature of the Armed Forces”.
The GAF colonel also criticises Essa Faal, a former lead counsel of Gambia’s truth commission over statements he had made in an interview suggesting that the military was being neglected by Barrow’s government.
”These claims, made without context or evidence, serve only to politicise the Armed Forces and/or drag it into a political discourse with leaders of political parties and their followers” says the GAF statement.
According to GAF, the impressions Faal was building of the military’s relations with political authority would only serve to undermine public confidence in the institution.
This is at a time when it was reinventing itself anew as professional, modern, effective, and democratically accountable.
To this end GAF has been in locked steps with the government’s much touted security sector reforms which began shortly after President Barrow came to power.
Col Sanyang’s statement professes GAF’s commitment to these reforms, demonstrating accountability and submission to democratic civilian authority and control in the wake of its troubled association with Barrow’s predecessor, Jammeh, wanted for egregious human rights violation during the entirety of his rule.
22 years under Jammeh, the leader of a military coup which brought him to power in 1994, left the army with a stained reputation.
Members of a death squad known as the junglers under the personal command of Mr Jammeh were recruited from within the ranks of the Gambian army to carry out abductions, executions and torture of political opponents, real or imagined, according to testimonies at the truth commission which Faal chaired.
Opinion polls in the wake of the political impasse caused by Jammeh’s U-turn despite conceding the 2016 election to his eventual successor, Barrow at first, the popularity ratings of this once feared institution was at its nadir.
This fear and distrust lingered years after Jammeh’s departure as the GAF struggled to turn away from its blemished past.
The Gambian military sees Sarr’s critique and Faal’s political diatribe from the prism of instigators motivated by the reward of cheap popularity for parochial ends which fly in the face of ethical conduct.
”Let it be made clear that GAF is a professional institution that continues to undergo wide-reaching reforms in line with international best practices, the Security Sector Reform agenda, and the expectations of the Gambian citizenry” Col Sanyang’s statement said.
He said the GAF ”will to remain fully subordinate to democratic, legally constituted civilian authority and guided strictly by the constitution and the laws of The Gambia”.
His statement warned that political manipulation of such a kind will only serve to undermine national cohesion and cause divisions which could compromise national security.
”The GAF remains committed to preserving the peace and security of this country while at the same time contributing to meaningful national and socio-economic development” it concluded.
WN/as/APA