Banjul, Gambia- The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) has released the long-awaited white paper set up to probe crimes committed during the reign of former President Yahya Jammeh.
For over two years, the TRRC deliberated on hearings, during which witnesses gave chilling evidence about torture, death squads, rape and witch hunts often at the hands of Jammeh’s hit unit, known as the Junglers.
In addition, Jammeh jailed his critics, branded citizens as witches and forced people with AIDS to swap their medications for bogus herbal treatments that he had invented, according to human rights advocates.
Among the recommendations on the panel’s white paper is the prosecution of Jammeh and members of the Junglers and providing support to victims.
“President Jammeh will face justice for the atrocities that he committed in this country. Impunity is a kind of incentive that we are not prepared to serve perpetrators. Let us be clear about this those who contemplate committing gross human rights violations must also be aware that society one day will hold them accountable,” said Dawda Jallow, the Minister of Justice.
The TRRC documented 122 cases of torture, with more than 230 people killed and many raped by Jammeh’s operatives, the majority of them on the former President’s orders.
After losing an election in 2016 and trying to cling to power, Jammeh finally went into exile in Equatorial Guinea, leading to the end of his 22-year dynasty and paving way for President Adama Barrow.
For Jammeh to face trial, Equatorial Guinea would have to agree to extradite him and two-thirds of Gambia’s parliament would also have to approve a prosecution.
However, there is currently no extradition agreement between the two nations and Jammeh still enjoys considerable support in the country particularly in his home region of Foni.
