 |
| Edward Singhateh Testifying at TRRC |
Too many
witnesses spoke about the devil, and too many witnesses said the devil did it.
Edward Singhateh’s name was called a million times and he was also implicated
in a million incidents. Since the TRRC started, the name Edward Singhateh has
been echoed like a champion – witness upon witness, testimony upon testimony! Essentially, all roads led to Edward Singhateh Avenue, and we are
finally there. Edward came because there is no place to hide and he had no
choice, not because he’s a nice murderer who wanted to do the right thing by
appearing on his own accord. The heat was too much, so he had to leave the
kitchen and show up! By appearing at the TRRC, Edward did not do anyone a favor,
rather, he was just trying to save a face that he doesn’t have. The TRRC
had become a lying fest, and Edward was not going to be any different. The
standard had already been set and maintained.
It is
perfectly fine for a murderer to be funny, but it is terribly bad for a murderer
to try to make jokes while being questioned about their crimes. Edward didn’t
need ice because he was sitting in the hot a seat, he needed ice because he’s a
cold blooded murderer who needed to keep his blood cold. He came with a
strategy to deny and deflect, and see what would stick. If he was going to go
down, he wanted to look cute in the process. So instead of having an accused
murderer to answer questions about their alleged crimes, we had a lawyer
attempting to defend himself and being a perfect fool for doing so.
The
entire session was about Edward and his audience. He wanted to look smart and
was constantly worried about those who are watching him. He wanted to endlessly
clarify and contextualize because he didn’t want those watching him to think of
him in a certain way. He wanted to be seen as polished and thoughtful, but he
came across as calculating and manipulative. Anything that made him look good
in the eyes of the audience, he basked in it and owned it. Accept all general
responsibility (because it’s less severe) and flatly deny all direct
responsibility (because it’s more severe), regardless of the mountain of
evidence presented. This is exactly the type of foolery that happens when a
lawyer tries to represent himself or herself, you are unable to emotionally
separate yourself and take a critical look at the evidence. If ten witnesses
who all know you said they saw you commit a crime and you are the only one who
said it didn’t happen, then you are lying. This is a reasonable conclusion
anywhere.
AD
Edward
told us that Goloh is the type of kufang coward who would say “bailen ma ma
hehh, y sorko bayey du hehh.” But it’s the same Edward, who told us in the
Janneh Commission that Goloh took some of his portfolio away from him when he
was a minister because he objected to Goloh’s release of a captured ship that
was illegally fishing in the Gambian waters. After taking his portfolios away,
he also said he was unable to get Goloh’s audience. He also said lots of other
things that indicated that he was scared of Goloh! Basically, Edward was scared
of the same coward he painted Goloh to be. When a coward is scared of another
coward!
Edward
denied beating or speaking to anyone when they went to Mile 2 Prison at that ungodly
hour. He said no hour is ungodly and that God made all hours. Well, God also
made all human life, but Edward serially ended some. A preaching murderer!
Edward repeatedly said that they were “young and angry”, but he expects us to
believe that he went to Mile 2 Prison at an ungodly hour as a “young and angry” soldier
who just found himself at the helm of power (in Africa) to interrogate other
officers, and he didn’t beat or speak to anyone? To add insult to injury, all
his victims said he beat the daylights out of them too, and he said “it wasn’t
me.”
According
to Edward, these were not normal times and he is perfectly right about that.
But somehow, he (Edward) the “young and angry” soldier was the only lucid
person in the lot, and everyone else was wild and crazy and he tried to bring
sanity. Goloh was wild, Sana Sabally was wild, and so were all the other
officers that did the beating and shooting. Anything that was going to directly
implicate him, he did not recall because it was so long ago. But for some weird
reason, Edward recalled their takeover of Yundum and Fajara Barracks and
narrated them perfectly. He told us how he led the storming crew at Yundum
Barracks and effortlessly took it over. He also perfectly narrated the Fajara
barracks takeover and how he threw a grenade on the left side of the room to
distract the subject, and then attacked him from the left side and captured him
without a hitch.
But why
did Edward recall these events so vividly and narrated them perfectly? Because
they made Edward look good as a military man who excelled in what he was
trained to do. Oh, and Edward also told us that he is a marksman and can take
anyone out if he wants to kill, and he still holds the record in the GNA. Yep,
the perfect soldier who later studied law and was never directly involved in
shooting or torturing anyone as a “young and wild’ soldier who found himself at
the wheel of power after staging a coup! The show was all about Edward
Singhateh looking good as a soldier and a sophisticated fool of a lawyer
attempting to defend himself from “manufactured” accusations.
Finally,
we were now at the climax of it all, Koro Ceesay’s murder – the who done it! Right
off the bat, Edward’s demeanor changed and his confidence level went down. He
was folding his hands at times and periodically releasing some heavy sighs. He
was less comfortable and not as confrontational, and he sounded more obedient.
Guilt has a way of suffocating the conscience, and you can visibly see how
smoking hot the chair was. With a significantly declined comfort level, Edward
kept adjusting his body as if he was sitting on pins and needles, which was
actually the case at that point. The only time that changed, was when Kanyi’s
testimony was played. He became agitated and viciously wet after Kanyi.
Clearly, there is something more between Edward and Kanyi (a man Edward claims
not to know) that meets the eye! Then to cap it all off, Edward felt offended
by being portrayed as a liar by Lead Counsel. Hello!
