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Long-awaited findings of an investigation into crimes committed under former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, which were due to be released on Thursday, have been delayed, investigators said.
A panel called the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) had been scheduled to solemnly deliver its findings to President Adama Barrow.
But the final report will now be released at a later date, a member of the TRRC told AFP, saying: “We are not ready yet.”
The TRRC was formed in 2017 after Jammeh’s loss to Barrow in the December 2016 election.
After a six-week standoff that ended with military intervention by neighboring countries, Jammeh flew to Equatorial Guinea.
Modeled on South Africa’s post-Apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the TRRC heard testimony from nearly 400 people from January 2019 to May 2021 on Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship.
Witnesses gave chilling evidence of state sanctioned torture, death squads, rapes and witch hunts, often carried out by the “Junglers”, who acted as Jammeh’s death squads.
“Frustration of the victims”
Reed Brody, a US lawyer calling for Jammeh’s prosecution, said the postponement was announced “to the frustration of the victims.”
The results, covering 16 volumes, were initially due out in July.
In April 2020, the TRRC released an interim report describing the rights violations under Jammeh as “massive, appalling and diverse”, including torture, extrajudicial killings, rape, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions.
The Gambia. By AFP (AFP) The TRRC has not been empowered to prosecute those responsible for crimes.
In its final report, it can recommend prosecution of the perpetrators or propose an amnesty for those who have testified to their crimes and expressed remorse, except in cases of crimes against humanity.
Jammeh came to power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and was reelected several times, in votes often condemned as bogus, until his defeat to Barrow.
Jammeh’s supporters want the 56-year-old ex-dictator to return from exile.
But many residents of this poor country of two million have also called for him to be sent home to be prosecuted.
Barrow has long said he would wait for his report before seeking any further action against his predecessor.
After receiving the report, the government has six months to respond to its recommendations.
The postponement comes as the small West African state is preparing for the December 4 presidential elections that Barrow intends to run for.
In early September, Jammeh’s political party announced an alliance with the ruling party, a move that was condemned by watchdogs.
Rights groups fear that the alliance between the political parties of President Adama Barrow (pictured) and Yahya Jammeh could damage the chances of justice being done. By Lamin KANTEH (AFP) The Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations said the team was a “threat to the government’s implementation of TRRC recommendations”, accusing Barrow of “abandoning grieving Gambian citizens to return to arms of this murderous and rapist tyrant “.
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