The attorney general and minister of justice in 1995, Mustapha Marong, said the death of the country’s former finance minister was never investigated. Marong said he has never received any information or request to carryout coroner’s inquest into Koro’s death.
Former Gambian justice minister said the former finance minister Koro Ceesay whose body was found in his car in 1995 was murdered by the military leaders at the time.
Marong statement comes barely two months after former private soldier Alagie Kanyi also confessed to participating in Koro’s death. Kanyi said they killed Koro at Yankuba Touray’s residence under the authority of Edward Singhateh.
Meanwhile, Marong told the Truth Commission on Tuesday that Koro’s death may have been connected to the $35 million dollars loan obtained by the military leaders and negotiated by former captain Ebou Jallo.
“I believe his death was connected to the $35 million dollars that Captain Ebou Jalo negotiated on behalf of the Government with Exim Bank of Taiwan…,” said Marong.
Marong said it was unusual and not in accordance with proper procedure that the loan agreement was negotiated with by Jallo and not the former finance minister.
And according to Jallo, former president Yahya Jammeh gave $100, 000 to all Council Members following the success of that loan deal.
It was unclear though why Koro was left out of the negotiation but there were suspicions that he would not have approved how the money obtained was going to be used.
After Koro’s death, the former military leader Jammeh and his colleague said he died in an accident. However, Marong suggested that they could only reach that conclusion if they had information not available to the ordinary person since there was not investigation to inform that conclusion.
“Most of the civilian ministers in the cabinet think Koro was murdered,” said Marong.
Despite the death of Koro, the Government remain quite on the issue. Marong said he asked Edward why the Government was quite on Koro’s death but he said they were waiting for a pathologist report before any announcement could be made.
“I told him the continues silence of the Government on the death of Koro sends a bad signal to the population,” said Marong.
Meanwhile, Marong said Koro’s case was never discussed at the cabinet but Jammeh once described the incident loosely as “an act of God”
He said there was a willful refusal from interior minister at the time, Lamin Kaba Bajo, to investigate the incident.
But according to Marong, that position by Kaba was influenced by Jammeh. Marong said Yahya Jammeh told Kaba in his presence to proceed quietly with the investigation, suggesting that he did not want it investigated.
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