A former commander of the Junglers paramilitary unit, Sanna Manjang, has been court-martialled in Gambia over allegations of deserting the country’s armed forces in 2017.
Manjang, a lieutenant colonel and former head of the unit accused of carrying out killings under ex-President Yahya Jammeh, appeared before a military court in Banjul on Monday.
He is accused of abandoning the armed forces in January 2017 when Jammeh left Gambia after losing a presidential election and refusing to accept the result.
The military said Manjang had been absent for about nine years with the intention of deserting.
Manjang was arrested in neighbouring Senegal in November 2025 and repatriated to Gambia the following month.
He had previously faced four murder charges, including the killing of veteran AFP journalist Deyda Hydara. The charges were withdrawn in July as the state considered how to call witnesses, many of whom are themselves alleged members of the Junglers. The murder charges are expected to be filed again.
The Junglers operated outside Gambia’s regular military structure and have been accused by rights groups and United Nations investigators of involvement in extrajudicial killings and torture during Jammeh’s 1994-2017 rule.
Manjang was also accused of killing three other men and is separately facing an ongoing trial over the alleged assault of two people.
The Gambian Armed Forces said Manjang was “implicated in serious human rights violations” when it announced the court martial.
Gambia established the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission after Jammeh’s departure to investigate alleged abuses during his rule.
The commission found that between 240 and 250 people were killed by the state during the period and documented allegations of extrajudicial killings, torture, kidnappings and other abuses.
Several people linked to Jammeh’s government and the Junglers have also been detained or convicted in Germany, Switzerland and the United States.
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