Rais wa Zamani wa Gambia kushtakiwa kwa mauaji

[Lady Whistledown]

Serikali ya Gambia imesema itamfungulia mashtaka Rais wa zamani Yahya Jammeh ambaye hivi sasa anaishi uhamishoni nchini Equatorial Guinea kwa mauaji, ubakaji, utesaji na uhalifu mwingine unaodaiwa kufanywa wakati wa utawala wake wa zaidi ya miaka 20.
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Wizara ya Sheria imesema kuwa Mei 25 ilikubali mapendekezo yote isipokuwa mawili kati ya 265 yaliyotolewa na tume ambayo ilichunguza madai ya uhalifu uliofanywa na serikali chini ya kiongozi huyo wa zamani kutoka Julai 1994 hadi Januari 2017.
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Serikali ilisema itawashtaki wahusika wote 70 waliotajwa katika ripoti ya tume hiyo, ikiwa ni pamoja na Makamu wa Rais wa zamani Isatou Njie-Saidy na wanachama wa wanachama maarufu kama "Junglers".

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The Gambian government has said it will prosecute former President Yahya Jammeh for murder, rape, torture and other alleged crimes committed during his more than 20-year rule.

The Ministry of Justice said on Wednesday that it accepted all but two of the 265 recommendations made by a commission that probed alleged crimes committed by the state under the despotic former leader from July 1994 to January 2017.

The commission’s report – presented to President Adama Barrow and made public in December – was based on years of witness testimonies.

Jammeh is currently living in exile in Equatorial Guinea, which has no extradition treaty with The Gambia.
The government said it would prosecute all 70 alleged perpetrators named in the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission’s twice-delayed report, including former Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy and members of the so-called “Junglers” hit squad.

“For 22 years, Yahya Jammeh ruled The Gambia with an iron fist,” the government wrote in a white paper.

“During his regime, extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, enforced disappearances, and numerous grievous human rights violations became part and parcel of his military Junta.”

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from the capital, Banjul, said “victims, survivors, victims’ families, activists, diplomats – everybody came here this morning with expectations that they will be disappointed at the end of the day”.

Many said they want to see these recommendations put into action by the government of The Gambia, Idris added.
Emmanuel Daniel Joof, head of Gambia’s national human rights commission, said: “We believe seriously that the government will own up, and these recommendations will be implemented.”

Meanwhile, Abdoulie Fatty, a former local legal consultant for the commission, called the government’s decision “unprecedented”.

“This level of acceptance of recommendations by the government is extraordinary,” Fatty said.

“The fact that there is a strong emphasis for the prosecution of Jammeh and those who bear the greatest responsibility sends a strong message that government is serious about pursuing him and ensuring that he’s held accountable for his crimes,” he added.

The government said it was developing a “prosecution strategy” and would set up a special court located within The Gambia, with “the option of holding sittings in other countries”.

The truth commission had recommended prosecuting Jammeh and his accomplices in an internationalised tribunal in another West African country.

“Impunity is a kind of incentive that we are not prepared to serve perpetrators,” Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said in a speech Wednesday.

“Their resolve to commit these atrocities cannot be stronger than our collective will as a society to hold them to account.”

Source: Al Jazeera