Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – Veteran Gambian lawyer Ousman Sillah has died on December 23, 2025, at his residence in Bakau, marking the end of a life distinguished by public service, professional integrity, and resilience in the face of political violence. He was a respected figure in The Gambia’s legal community and a prominent survivor of one of the country’s most high-profile attacks on a lawyer during the authoritarian era.
Mr. Sillah was widely known not only for his legal career but also for his varied public service. He served as a captain of the Gambia National Squad, was once an aide-de-camp to former President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, and later built a reputation as a principled and formidable legal practitioner.
Colleagues and clients alike regarded him as deeply committed to the ethics of the legal profession and to the defense of the rule of law.
His name became indelibly linked to The Gambia’s human rights history following an assassination attempt on the night of December 25–26, 2003. Mr. Sillah was shot multiple times at the gate of his home in Bakau after returning from a wedding ceremony of the now Mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe. He survived the attack by remaining motionless, later describing how he “played dead” as his assailants fled the scene.
In a 2004 interview with The Independent newspaper, conducted by Dr. Ebrima Ceesay, Mr. Sillah recounted the severe injuries he sustained and the long recovery that followed.
He revealed that doctors in Senegal had removed the bullets from his body, that he had lost one kidney, and that he suffered lasting facial injuries as a result of the shooting. Despite the trauma, he expressed gratitude for surviving the ordeal.
Mr. Sillah consistently maintained that the attack was an attempted murder motivated by his professional work, particularly his defense of businessman Baba Jobe.
While stating that direct evidence would be required to prove responsibility in a court of law, he said he was convinced the shooting was state-sponsored, citing circumstantial evidence and the circumstances surrounding the attack.
He gave a detailed account of the incident, describing how two armed men emerged from an unmarked pickup truck, similar, he said, to those used by the Gambia National Army, and opened fire while he was still seated in his car.
After the assailants left, he managed to reach his home, where he was later rushed for medical treatment and eventually flown to Senegal for further care.
Subsequent truth-seeking processes and judicial proceedings have shed further light on the attack. Witnesses before the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) identified Sanna Manjang, a key operative of the Junglers, a paramilitary unit that reported directly to former President Yahya Jammeh, as one of the shooters.
The TRRC described Manjang as among the most feared Junglers due to his brutality. Mr. Sillah’s death comes shortly after Manjang was captured in Casamance and jailed in The Gambia.
In a related development, on November 30, 2023, Bai Lowe was convicted by the Higher Regional Court of Celle in Lower Saxony, Germany, for the attempted murder of Ousman Sillah, a landmark ruling under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Ousman Sillah’s death has prompted renewed reflection on the dangers faced by legal practitioners during periods of repression in The Gambia under Yahya Jammeh’s regime.
Many regard his survival, testimony, and steadfast commitment to the law as a lasting contribution to the country’s struggle for justice, accountability, and the rule of law.
