Ambassador Sey unconvinced about police version of voter material theft in Sanyang

The leader of Gambia Forward Movement Ambassador Essa Bokarr Sey has raised strong skepticism over the police narration that a suspected lunatic unlawfully entered the IEC registration office in Sanyang and stole registration materials including blank voter registration cards.

Police said in a statement on Monday that most of the stolen materials were recovered.  The IEC said the materials stolen have no effect on the integrity of the process.

But according to Ambassador Sey, the story raises suspicions ‘because a lunatic can never achieve such a mission’. 

“We cannot be in the public and say yes sir to whatever the police push on us. We need justifications. Let them provide a certificate from a psychiatrist that declares the suspect is mentally ill because that is the standard operational procedure throughout the world,” Sey, a former deputy CEO at OIC Gambia told The Standard. 

He continued: “Breaking into a voter registration centre is a mission no lunatic can ever be able to accomplish. There are wise lies and unwise lies. Avoid using unwise lies because they can be easily detected. Why detain a lunatic accused of breaking into a place and stealing? Instead of a police station, the man should have now been between psychiatrists and medication not cells, cuffs and uniforms. Be careful of rushing for cover-ups; it may turn against the ones who planned it. Why was the centre not under guard? Guarding an installation as important as a voter registration centre should precede these so-called endless ongoing investigations,” Sey, also a former security officer, concluded.