In a Banjul military courtroom, Sanna Manjang — once the commander of The Gambia's feared Junglers paramilitary unit — now stands accused not of the killings that defined his tenure, but of the act of walking away. His nine-year desertion charge, narrower than the murder counts that collapsed in July, reflects a recurring tension in post-authoritarian justice: when the full reckoning proves unreachable, institutions pursue what they can hold. The trial is one thread in a longer, unfinished effort to account for the estimated 240 to 250 lives lost under Yahya Jammeh's two-decade rule.
Former 'Junglers' leader faces military trial in Gambia for desertion
The Junglers unit killed an estimated 240-250 people during Jammeh's rule, including journalist Deyda Hydara and three other men, with widespread torture, kidnappings, and extrajudicial killings documented.