Mastermind of Gambia’s Failed Coup Jailed 12 Years
A junior navy officer named by the Gambia’s government as the mastermind of a foiled coup plot in December last year has been found guilty of treason and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
A High Court on Tuesday ruled that lance corporal Sanna Fadera planned and attempted to unlawfully overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow.
Authorities had charged Fadera and seven other soldiers with treason, conspiracy and inciting mutiny for their alleged role in the 2022 coup attempt.
The court acquitted three other military officers on Tuesday.
Another soldier has been on the run since the foiled coup attempt and is considered a fugitive.
The court also acquitted a police officer and two civilians who had been charged with concealing treason and conspiring to commit felony.
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Before President Barrow came to power, the West African country was governed for two decades by Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a coup in 1994, and foiled several attempts to overthrow him, before he lost the 2016 election.
Eight soldiers were charged with treason and conspiracy in January for their role in a Dec. 21, 2022 coup attempt in the West African nation of 2.5 million people almost entirely surrounded by Senegal.
Two civilians and a police officer were also charged with concealment of treason and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Seven, including the two civilians and the officer, were acquitted and released mid-trial.
The soldier accused of being the ringleader, Sanna Fadera, was found guilty of treason, the court ruled on Tuesday. Three other accused soldiers were acquitted of all charges.
Coup attempts are not uncommon in Gambia, which is still reeling from over two decades under former president Yahya Jammeh that were marked by authoritarianism and alleged abuses.
Jammeh himself seized power in 1994 and foiled several attempts to overthrow him before he lost an election in late 2016 to Barrow.
Fadera has denied all charges. He has 30 days to appeal the verdict.
