Record keeping at Police stations up and down the country has been exposed at the Truth Commission during the appearance of the Inspector General of Gambia Police, Mamour Jobe. The IGP appeared before the commission to provide diaries at the Kairaba, Bundung, PIU, Major Crime Unit and Barra police stations covering the periods over fifty West African would be migrants were arrested in the Gambia and gruesomely killed by security agents of former president Jammeh. Incidentally, the diaries for all, but Major Crime Unit and Kairaba appears to have miraculously disappeared.
Handing over the Kairaba Police incident diary, IGP Jobe warned Lead Counsel Essa Faal that the record book is in a bad condition as it was wrapped in a carrier bag. Insisting on seeing and opening the all important diary as it is expected to contain incident report of the West African migrants who were arrested and subsequently killed, Essa Faal, unimpressed with the sight of the diary told IGP Jobe that to say that the diary was in a “bad state would be an understatement”
The state of the police diary that was produced at the commission revealed the lack of priorities for successive governments who have spent millions of Gambian tax Dalasis on frivolous things instead of strengthening key and relevant institutions. Gambia Police Force should be using digital record keeping methods especially when it comes to incidence record for prevention and prosecution of crime in the country, but instead was using paper diaries.
However, IGP Jobe has informed the commission that he has started digitalising the record keeping process across police stations in the country, which is expected to be completed soon.
The Gambia Police boss will now re-appear before the commission with the hope of producing the incident reports/diaries of the police stations of PIU, Barra, and Bundung. The TRRC sitting has been adjourned to Thursday 4th March at 10am.