The Lion Incident: How a German Woman tried to Ruined My Life and My Organization

By Dr. Ebrima Badjie

This is the first and most in-depth statement by Dr. Ebrima Badjie on his former vice president of the Gambian Connection and partner Ebrima Njie/Badjie or “The Lion”. The following is his account of what happened on April 12th, 2019, and the aftermath of that fateful day.

The Text Message That Changed Everything

On April 12th, 2019, I received a simple text message from my vice president on WhatsApp: “I am moving out”. I was shocked and confused. My mother had just had a critical accident with her bicycle a few days before, and I was in Germany working and in constant WhatsApp contact with my vice president. Weeks before, I had flown to Germany to start my summer mission in Europe, as I do almost every year. All responsibility and missions were by that time handed over to my vice president. He was my trusted friend and colleague, and we had worked together for years to build the Gambian Connection, a non-profit organization that aimed to empower the Gambian youth through education, entrepreneurship, and cultural exchange.

What I didn’t know was that shortly after my departure from the Gambia, a lady from Germany arrived. I suspect it was Isa Werner from Wuppertal, a lady that we had invited to our compound two months before. This lady pretended to be a teacher who wanted to do an internship at a school in the Gambia to experience the Gambian lifestyle. She was a guest in my house and we treated her nicely. As it later turned out, this lady had other intentions. Or I can say her intentions changed during her stay. I don’t know if the lady fell in love with my vice president or she misinterpreted our Gambian culture and with her German world police attitude tried to rescue my vice from something that was normal in the Gambia. I am a hard leader of my organization and so I was leading also my vice. However, I suspect that between both of them there was something like a secret talk behind my back. Surely and I am very sure that that lady Werner was influencing my vice president a lot. It remains a mystery till today what exactly happened after and shortly before the 12th of April 2019.

The Disappearance and the Kidnapping

I suspect that the lady came back to the Gambia shortly after my departure and lived with my vice in my house, while influencing him to pack and forbidding him to communicate with me. I am sure she used money to influence him more and more. In the end, my vice disappeared for almost six months, to show up later in Germany, surprisingly or not, in the same city where Mrs. Werner was living. I see it still as a possible kidnapping. She took him away from his home, his family, his friends, and his work. She brainwashed him and made him betray me and the Gambian Connection.

The consequences for me and my organization were astonishingly bad. Not only was I traumatized, we lost all of our projects after that and it took four years, until 2023, until we were able to recover from that incident. We lost our reputation, our funding, our partners, and our beneficiaries. We had to start from scratch and rebuild everything. It was a painful and difficult process, but we did not give up. We still believe in our vision and our mission, and we still have the support of many loyal and dedicated people.

The Quest for Answers

This is just a first statement, but I will continue writing this story until I get answers. I want to know why my vice president did what he did, and what role the lady Werner played in it. I want to know what happened to him in Germany, and if he is happy or not. I want to know if he regrets his actions, and if he ever thinks of me and the Gambian Connection. I want to know the truth, and I want justice. I want to expose the lies and the manipulation that the lady Werner used to destroy my life and my organization. I want to warn others about the dangers of trusting strangers who come to our country with hidden agendas. I want to share my story with the world, and I hope that someone will listen and help me.

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