01/12/2025
Leaked Audio Allegedly of Ex-Jungler Lt. Col. Sanna Manjang Alleges Betrayal, Plots, and Financial Struggles in Exile
By Bubacarr Sonko
A leaked audio circulating widely on social media — allegedly featuring the voice of Lieutenant Colonel Sanna Manjang, a former member of ex-president Yahya Jammeh’s notorious hit squad, the Junglers — has sparked fresh controversy, raising claims of betrayal, internal rifts, and security threats among exiled operatives.
In the recording, the speaker, believed to be Manjang, recounts several alleged attempts to “set him up” during his stay in Guinea-Bissau. He claims Alieu Secka was aware of plots against him, including one he said nearly succeeded.
According to the audio, the “elder” — interpreted by many as former president Yahya Jammeh — warned him about a patrol team member named Sambou.
“He told me, ‘Be careful of him; he always communicates with the NIA.’ He said Sambou told the NIA he knows where I’m living,” the voice claims.
Manjang said Jammeh instructed him to relocate for safety, but he refused.
“I told him, ‘Oga, with due respect, I’m not moving. Let them come — then you will know how I’m living here.’”
The speaker describes living with a Guinea-Bissau captain identified as Malia Jerju, who allegedly offered him a pistol for protection after hearing of the threats. According to the audio, the captain even vowed to place the weapon under Manjang’s pillow if he refused to take it.
The speaker accuses Sulayman Sambou of collaborating with Gambian intelligence services and says internal divisions deepened when he refused to support accusations allegedly made against Jammeh by other former Junglers.
He insists that allegations claiming Jammeh personally instructed him and his men were false.
“All the allegations they said to Yahya Jammeh are lies. I was their head, and I never spoke to the big man. Do you think he would jump a lieutenant colonel to give orders to a junior? I only saw him on TV.”
According to him, these disagreements created resentment among the group, who believed he still supported the former president.
The speaker also describes receiving strong community support in Bissau — free accommodation and daily meals — which he says triggered jealousy among other ex-Junglers.
“They saw how I was living. In the evenings, young girls would come to my house. I invited them so they could see my place.”
The audio further claims that some of his former colleagues devised a setup to deceive him by claiming that Gambians had come looking for him at his residence. He alleges that his own younger brother, Nyabally, participated in the plot.
“That’s why I cut off Nyabally. I raised him. Because of me he is there today, yet he betrayed me,” the speaker says.
Manjang also recounts conflict with another former Jungler, Nuha, whom he accuses of allowing junior officers to create division and undermine their seniority.
The recording highlights financial struggles among the exiled officers. Manjang claims they sold their patrol vehicles for 8 million CFA, giving each man approximately 3 million CFA (around D300,000) to sustain themselves.
He describes the money as irregular and insufficient:
“The money didn’t come in bulk. Anytime something came, we used it to eat. That’s why things were hard for us.”
He contrasts this with alleged financial mismanagement by Saul Badjie, a former high-ranking Jungler commander. According to the audio, Badjie transported large sums of money to Dakar through an aide, Kitabu, intending to support his wife.
Manjang claims Badjie’s wife later squandered the funds, sold his property in Dakar, and fled to Europe.
“His wife lavished a lot of millions from Saul and ran away… even the compound in Senegal she sold it and left. That’s the trauma he is facing now.”
The leaked audio adds another chapter to the unresolved and often dark legacy of the Junglers — a unit long linked to enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings under Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
As of now, neither the Gambian authorities nor the individuals named have issued statements regarding the authenticity or claims made in the recording.
