Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The Gambia Police Force has promoted Assistant Inspector General of Police for Crime Management, Mr. Demba Sowe, to the position of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). The appointment, announced on August 21, follows the statutory retirement of his predecessor, Mr. Momodou Sowe, and marks a new chapter in a policing career spanning nearly four decades.
DIG Sowe, a native of Kampassa Village in Foni Jarrol, joined the Police Force in 1985 and steadily rose through the ranks. Over the years, he has served in several strategic posts—including as Commissioner of Interpol and CIIB, Commissioner of Administration, Director of Intelligence at the former National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and Assistant Inspector General for Crime Management.
His résumé also includes participation in UN peacekeeping missions and an academic foundation in law, with both an LLB and a Barrister-at-Law qualification.
In its statement, the Police High Command hailed Sowe’s “outstanding service, leadership, and professionalism,” framing his elevation as part of the institution’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.
Stains from the TRRC Report Impair the “Transformation” Strive
Yet, the announcement has not gone without controversy. The Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) report cited Demba Sowe as one of the officers who sat on the 2006 coup investigation panel at the NIA headquarters—a process marred by systematic torture of detainees.
According to the TRRC, the panel—composed of senior officials from the army, police, and NIA—relied on confessions extracted under torture, often administered by Yahya Jammeh’s notorious paramilitary unit, the Junglers.
Witnesses testified that ASP Demba Sowe, then a member of the panel, was present during interrogations in an atmosphere described as a “war zone,” where suspects were threatened, deprived of basic needs, and brutalized into confessions later broadcast on national television.
Notably, the TRRC established that Sowe and other panelists worked in environments where the Junglers, including Michael Sang Correa, operated with impunity.
Correa, who is currently detained in the United States and tried for crimes committed at the NIA, was only days ago sentenced in Colorado to 67 years and 6 months in prison for “doing the dirty jobs” of torturing and framing detainees on behalf of Yahya Jammeh’s regime.
So we sat on those same NIA panels, which, according to the Commission, often succumbed to Correa and other torturers.
The Commission concluded that panel members, including Sowe, were aware that detainees were being tortured but nonetheless accepted coerced confessions as valid evidence.
This places his new promotion against the unresolved question of accountability for human rights abuses under the Jammeh regime.
The development highlights a broader tension in The Gambia’s transitional justice process: how to reconcile the TRRC’s damning findings on individuals still serving in security institutions with the state’s need to maintain continuity and reward long-serving officers.
While DIG Sowe’s supporters view him as an experienced and disciplined officer whose promotion reflects years of dedication, critics argue that the government must clarify how TRRC-implicated figures fit into the reform and accountability agenda.
As the Police Force embarks on what it describes as a “community-centered” transformation, Demba Sowe’s elevation underscores the unfinished business of transitional justice—raising the question of whether institutional reform in The Gambia can truly move forward without addressing the legacies of the past.
