Jammeh-era prisons chief arrested by police in Senegal

Senegal has announced the arrest of a top Gambian official who was head of the country’s prisons during the Yahya Jammeh era. He was reportedly trying to sneak into Guinea-Bissau.

General Bora Colley was appointed prisons boss by Jammeh in 2012. He was arrested as part of border checks mounted by the authorities. He has since been handed over to the Senegalese military.

“These checks led to, among other results, the arrest on Jan. 25, 2017, of Gambian General Bora Colley by police at the border checkpoint in Mpack as he attempted to enter Guinea-Bissau,” the police said in a statement.

Senegal boarders the Gambia on all sides except in the direction of the sea. Senegal played a key role since Jammeh refused to accept results of last December polls. They criticized Jammeh’s move and was in the lead with respect to the dispatch of troops by ECOWAS to force Jammeh out after the expiration of his mandate.

Gambian jails under Jammeh were notorious for reports of torture and abuse of the rights of perceived opponents. Some detainees have died whiles in jail.

Local media reports that General Colley served as commander of the military camp in Jammeh’s home village of Kanilai before his appointment as prisons boss.

Jammeh is currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea after over two decades rule. He came to power through a bloodless coup in 1994 after deposing Dawda Jawara, the country’s first president.