The defence case in the trial of Sanna Manjang opened at the High Court in Banjul on Wednesday, with the accused taking the witness stand to give evidence on his military service and assignment to the Kanilai patrol team during the period of the alleged offences. Counsel Jobe then called Sanna Manjang to the witness box. Manjang, a resident of Brikama, father of eight, and former soldier, testified that he joined the Gambia Armed Forces in January 1994. On return, he was briefly posted to State House before being transferred to Kanilai following a notice board directive to join the patrol team. He told the court the Casamance border was unstable and his duty was to ensure Gambians “could go about their business without threats.”