Yankuba Touray Trial: PW2 Says “We Were Sent on Patrol to The Beach by Yankuba Touray”
Ensa Mendy, former personal bodyguard to Yankuba Touray and the second prosecution witness (PW2), has on Tuesday told the Banjul High Court that the former Local Government Minister had assigned him and other guards stationed at his compound to go on a patrol along the Tourism Development Area (TDA) under the pretext that there were enemies coming to launch an attack on the country.
Having served as Touray’s personal bodyguard from 1994 until 2001, Mendy made this disclosure before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court, where Yankuba Touray is currently facing murder charges in the death of former Finance Minister Ousman Koro Ceesay. “As far as I can recall in June of 1995, Chairman Yahya Jammeh was supposed to travel to Ethiopia, on that day I was working with Yankuba
Touray, the then Minister of Local Government. He informed me that Jammeh was travelling to Ethiopia and we should rush home to have lunch and return to Statehouse, which we did immediately after lunch”, Ensa Mendy a native of Brikamaba told the Court.
According to him, upon arrival at the Statehouse they (bodyguards) waited for the Council members for about an hour before they set for the airport, recalling that immediately after Council members were done with their usual meeting with former President Jammeh, Yankuba Touray asked him to inform his driver to go home as he will be joining one of the Council members in their vehicle.
Mendy goes on to say he then went ahead to Lamin Ndour, driver to Yankuba Touray to relay the message to him. Moments after arriving at the house, Mendy recalls Touray calling, ordering him and his guards to go on a patrol around the TDA area on suspicion that a certain boat with enemy forces is expected to anchor at the beach and they should monitor the situation.
“I cannot remember all those guards whom I went on patrol with, but I can remember Corporal Janko and Private Lamin Bojang. We were on the beach around Bungalow Beach Hotel area patrolling, but couldn’t notice any unusual movements and I decided to call Yankuba Touray to inform him that we didn’t see anything, but he said we should stay”, the former bodyguard revealed at the court.
Mendy said he and other guards decided to stay to monitor the situation, but didn’t see any unusual movements, adding that it was moments later that Yankuba Touray called him back, telling him to send the other guards back home.
At this juncture the presiding Judge, Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, adjourned the case for continuation on Thursday, October 24th, 2019 at 11:30am.
