BANJUL, The Gambia – It’s been more than a year since voters rejected Yayah Jammeh after living under his oppressive rule for almost 23 years.
Lamin Fatty is one of the thousands of Gambians who fled his country while Jammeh’s security forces began targeting dissidents, journalists, homosexuals and others. The climate today under current President Adama Barrow is totally different, he said.
“I can see smiling faces of fellow Gambians interacting freely, mot like before when secret agents were suppressing people’s views on politics and even religion.” said Fatty, who lived in neighboring countries for 10 years. “Freedom is back.”
But now Fatty and others are now demanding justice, too, as they ask what might become of Jammeh and his associates who are now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
“We want Jammeh to be brought to Banjul,” said Yusupha Mbaye, 36, who has been confined to a wheelchair since police shot him during a student protest in 2000. “Fourteen of my colleagues were killed as well. I want to know why he ordered his boys to shoot and kill my colleagues. Until that is done, our minds will not be at peace. We need justice and we need it now.”
President Barrow and lawmakers have set up a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission to compile the testimonies of those whose rights were violated under Jammeh and discuss ways to potentially redress those crimes.
“It is important to have an accurate and impartial historical record of the violations [and] document them for posterity to ensure that never again do we encounter a reoccurrence of such abuses,” stated the legislation that created the commission.
Human rights activists applied the move. “The victims have been patiently waiting for this for long,” Sabrina Mahtani, an Amnesty International researcher based in West Africa. “It’s a positive step towards ending impunity.”
But Mahtani and others were concerned that the commission, which should begin work in the coming months, can pardon those found guilty of crimes during Jemmeh’s presidency if they tell the truth about their actions. Mahtani believed murder, rape and torture were too serious to merit absolution. The commission cannot pardon crimes against humanity.
American lawyer Ruud Brody of Human Rights Watch is working with victims who expect to appear before the commission, said he was sure he could prove a long list of atrocities during Jemmeh’s reign.
“I am working closely with the victims,” said Ruud Brody, who helped prosecutors evidence to convict Chadian dictator Hissane Habre of summary execution, rape and torture in 2016. “We are documenting series of human rights violations perpetrated by the former president and his close aides. This has given us a clear picture of what happened and how we can achieve justice for the victims.”
The process has already started. Last month, President Donald Trump froze Jammeh and his affiliated company’s assets in the US, saying Gambian officials had listed $50 million he’s absconded in public funds. In announcing the move, the U.S. Treasury cited a string of human rights abuses under Jammeh, including using his elite force, the Junglers, to assassinate enemies and sow terror.
It’s not clear if Gambians will ever get closer to Jammeh than his bank accounts, however.
The president of Equitorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, is a ruthless dictator who has been in power for 38 years. His country never joined the convention that accepts jurisdiction of International Criminal Court, so he has no obligation to extradite Jammeh.
Amadou Scatred Janneh, 55, a leading member of the #Jammeh2Justice campaign that advocates for bringing Jammeh back, said he and his supporters would still try to convince other regional leaders to put pressure on Obiang to send their former president home.
“Yayah Jammeh must be charged and tried for the gross violations of human rights committed under his direction,” said Janneh. “We will not rest until Jammeh gets a fair trial, something he denied us his victims for 23 years. We will continue to mount both political and legal pressure to see him extradited to face justice. Putting Jammeh on trial is the only way to end impunity in The Gambia and Africa as a whole.”
Mohamed Sandeng, a college student, agreed. His father, political activist Solo Sandeng, died in detention in 2016 after he was arrested at an opposition rally in Banjul. The family exhumed Sandeng last year. A medical examiner determined that state officials tortured and murdered him.
The younger Sandeng believes some of the men who killed his father are now due to appear before the commission. “My family is still trying to accept the reality of living without the head, my father,” said the 20-year-old. “He needs to face justice for the soul of our father to rest in peace.”
An alternative version of this story can be found here.
Lamin Fatty is one of the thousands of Gambians who fled his country while Jammeh’s security forces began targeting dissidents, journalists, homosexuals and others. The climate today under current President Adama Barrow is totally different, he said.
“I can see smiling faces of fellow Gambians interacting freely, mot like before when secret agents were suppressing people’s views on politics and even religion.” said Fatty, who lived in neighboring countries for 10 years. “Freedom is back.”
But now Fatty and others are now demanding justice, too, as they ask what might become of Jammeh and his associates who are now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
“We want Jammeh to be brought to Banjul,” said Yusupha Mbaye, 36, who has been confined to a wheelchair since police shot him during a student protest in 2000. “Fourteen of my colleagues were killed as well. I want to know why he ordered his boys to shoot and kill my colleagues. Until that is done, our minds will not be at peace. We need justice and we need it now.”
President Barrow and lawmakers have set up a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission to compile the testimonies of those whose rights were violated under Jammeh and discuss ways to potentially redress those crimes.
“It is important to have an accurate and impartial historical record of the violations [and] document them for posterity to ensure that never again do we encounter a reoccurrence of such abuses,” stated the legislation that created the commission.
Human rights activists applied the move. “The victims have been patiently waiting for this for long,” Sabrina Mahtani, an Amnesty International researcher based in West Africa. “It’s a positive step towards ending impunity.”
But Mahtani and others were concerned that the commission, which should begin work in the coming months, can pardon those found guilty of crimes during Jemmeh’s presidency if they tell the truth about their actions. Mahtani believed murder, rape and torture were too serious to merit absolution. The commission cannot pardon crimes against humanity.
American lawyer Ruud Brody of Human Rights Watch is working with victims who expect to appear before the commission, said he was sure he could prove a long list of atrocities during Jemmeh’s reign.
“I am working closely with the victims,” said Ruud Brody, who helped prosecutors evidence to convict Chadian dictator Hissane Habre of summary execution, rape and torture in 2016. “We are documenting series of human rights violations perpetrated by the former president and his close aides. This has given us a clear picture of what happened and how we can achieve justice for the victims.”
The process has already started. Last month, President Donald Trump froze Jammeh and his affiliated company’s assets in the US, saying Gambian officials had listed $50 million he’s absconded in public funds. In announcing the move, the U.S. Treasury cited a string of human rights abuses under Jammeh, including using his elite force, the Junglers, to assassinate enemies and sow terror.
It’s not clear if Gambians will ever get closer to Jammeh than his bank accounts, however.
The president of Equitorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, is a ruthless dictator who has been in power for 38 years. His country never joined the convention that accepts jurisdiction of International Criminal Court, so he has no obligation to extradite Jammeh.
Amadou Scatred Janneh, 55, a leading member of the #Jammeh2Justice campaign that advocates for bringing Jammeh back, said he and his supporters would still try to convince other regional leaders to put pressure on Obiang to send their former president home.
“Yayah Jammeh must be charged and tried for the gross violations of human rights committed under his direction,” said Janneh. “We will not rest until Jammeh gets a fair trial, something he denied us his victims for 23 years. We will continue to mount both political and legal pressure to see him extradited to face justice. Putting Jammeh on trial is the only way to end impunity in The Gambia and Africa as a whole.”
Mohamed Sandeng, a college student, agreed. His father, political activist Solo Sandeng, died in detention in 2016 after he was arrested at an opposition rally in Banjul. The family exhumed Sandeng last year. A medical examiner determined that state officials tortured and murdered him.
The younger Sandeng believes some of the men who killed his father are now due to appear before the commission. “My family is still trying to accept the reality of living without the head, my father,” said the 20-year-old. “He needs to face justice for the soul of our father to rest in peace.”
An alternative version of this story can be found here.
