Sanna Manjang, a former soldier who served under the long-standing administration of Yahya Jammeh, has appeared in a military trial in The Gambia. The legal proceedings center on charges of desertion, specifically relating to his departure from the military in 2017. This exit occurred shortly after the conclusion of Jammeh’s 20-year presidency, a period marked by significant political transition in the country.

Manjang has been widely identified in media reports and by human rights groups as a key figure in the “Junglers,” a military unit often described as a death squad that operated under Jammeh’s authority. While the current military trial is focused on the administrative charge of desertion, the context of his past alleged involvement in state-sanctioned violence remains a central point of interest for observers of The Gambia’s post-Jammeh transitional justice process. The military court is currently tasked with addressing the desertion charges, though the proceedings have drawn attention due to Manjang’s controversial history during the previous regime.