Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) has confirmed the arrest of ex-Brigadier General Bora Colley, a former senior officer and alleged member of the notorious ‘Junglers,’ a paramilitary unit linked to numerous human rights violations during the regime of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Colley, who fled the country following Jammeh’s departure to Equatorial Guinea in January 2017, was apprehended on the night of August 9, 2024, after voluntarily surrendering to the GAF Military Police at Yundum Barracks.
According to the GAF’s Director of Press & Public Relations, Colonel Lamin K. Sanyang, intelligence operatives had mounted surveillance around Colley’s residence in the Greater Banjul Area based on credible information received earlier that day. His surrender came amidst heightened scrutiny, and he is currently in detention, cooperating with military authorities as investigations continue.
Ex-Brigadier General Colley was a central figure during Jammeh’s rule, having served as the Director of Prisons, where numerous human rights abuses were reportedly committed against perceived opponents of the regime. The Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC), established to investigate the abuses of the Jammeh era, has extensively documented Colley’s alleged involvement in atrocities carried out by the ‘Junglers,’ a special hit squad that operated under Jammeh’s direct command.
In January 2017, Colley was briefly arrested by Senegalese police at the Mpack border checkpoint in Ziguinchor as he attempted to cross into Guinea-Bissau.
Following his arrest in Ziguinchor, Bora Colley hired Hélène Cissé, a Senegalese attorney who argued that Bora’s health had been deteriorating since 2012, necessitating continuous medical attention and severely affecting his professional life since 2014. According to his attorney, Hélène Cissé, Gen. Colley had sought further medical treatment at the Souleyman Junkung Jammeh General Hospital in Bwiam, The Gambia, just before attempting to cross into Guinea-Bissau.
Although he was released under unclear circumstances, Colley subsequently joined other fugitive Junglers in Guinea-Bissau, where they sought refuge.
A 2018 intelligence report submitted to Gambian authorities detailed the activities of many fugitive Junglers in Guinea-Bissau. Colley was particularly reported to have left Guinea-Bissau for Dubai in April 2017, only to return in August of the same year with a new Gambian passport. The report also highlighted that many of these runaway Junglers resided in Madina, a village in Guinea-Bissau’s Gabu region, on land reportedly gifted to Jammeh by a local businessman.
The circumstances surrounding Colley’s return to The Gambia and the duration of his stay in the country remain under investigation. The GAF has pledged to keep the public informed as more details emerge.
The arrest of Bora Colley marks a significant development in The Gambia’s ongoing efforts to hold former Jammeh-era officials accountable for past abuses.
It also raises critical questions about the whereabouts and activities of other fugitive Junglers who remain at large.
