Greene County Democrat

Tag: Adama Barrow

  • Newswire : Lawyers building case against Gambian ex-President over mass killing of refugees

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    Martin Kyere, sole survivor of massacre of Ghanan refugees

    May 28, 2018 (GIN) – Strong evidence has been gathered linking the former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, to the murder of 44 West African migrants mostly from Ghana by operatives of the ex-president.

    The sole survivor of the mass killing, also from Ghana, promised himself not to rest until Mr Jammeh was brought to justice. ”It is my mission, on behalf of my friends, we want justice,” Martin Kyere, now age 37, told the BBC.

    Kyere was selling shoes in Ghana and the Ivory Coast when he decided to use his savings to travel to Senegal and then to Europe. His plan fell apart when the boat used by migrants ran out of fuel and beached in the Gambia. The group was arrested, detained for a week in Banjul and beaten.

    “We asked the officers why we were there, they just said the orders came from above. For a long time we thought we would just be deported.”

    But the migrants were handed over to paramilitaries whose torture and killings had helped keep Mr Jammeh in power since July 1994. They were driven to a desolate area and killed brutally. Kyere jumped out of the truck and was saved.

    Thirteen years later and now living in his native Ghana, Kyere is the key witness in an international effort to bring The Gambia’s former president to trial for what was probably the single largest mass killing during his 22 years in power.

    ”We are presenting evidence that approximately 44 Ghanaian citizens were killed by a death squad that took its orders from Jammeh,” said Reed Brody, legal counsel for Human Rights Watch, which is supporting Mr Kyere’s campaign along with Trial International.

    “We have been able to interview 30 former officials, 11 of whom were directly involved, and it is clear that the migrants were not killed by rogue elements – as claimed by a previous investigation – but by the ‘junglers’ who took their orders directly from Jammeh.”

    Mr Jammeh has lived in Equatorial Guinea since January 2017 since losing his re-election bid to Adama Barrow.

    The Gambia has returned six bodies to Ghana, and paid $500,000 to cover burial and other costs. Most of the remaining bodies have never been found.

    If Mr Kyere’s case is heard in Ghana this would embolden over 1,000 of the Jammeh regime’s victims in to seek justice, Brody said

  • Desperate Gambian leader may find all exits now closed

     

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     #GambiaHasDecided sign

           Jan. 16 2017 (GIN) – Gambian President Yahya Jammeh hardened his position this week in defiance of December’s election results that put opposition candidate, Adama Barrow, squarely over the top. Now, as military loyalists peel off or are jailed, it appears he may have played his last card.

    For weeks, diplomatic overtures by various pan-African institutions offering a dignified departure were turned down. Offers of asylum from Nigerian MPs were left on the table. The stated wishes of the Gambian people to have a leader of their choice were overruled

    Finally, a last ditch effort to stop the inauguration of President-elect Barrow suffered a major setback this week as the country’s Supreme Court refused to hear a petition by Mr. Jammeh’s party.

    Emmanuel Fagbenle, the country’s chief judge, denied the petition on the grounds that it listed Fagbenle, who is the only Supreme Court Judge at the moment, as a party in the application, according to the Premium Times of Nigeria. Mr Fabgenle bowed out, saying he could not give an order against himself.

    Inauguration ceremonies are scheduled for this week but the unresolved matter of Mr. Jammeh has prompted neighboring countries to prepare for a military action. Nigeria reportedly has readied some 800 troops for a “rapid reaction” military incursion should the call be made for such a response.

    Close to a thousand Gambians have already crossed the borders to neighboring countries, telling media outlets they fear chaos and violence by the remaining Jammeh loyalists.

    As with other world leaders, Mr. Barrow has set up a Twitter feed called #GambiaHasDecided Also on Twitter, longtime human rights activist Kumi Naidoo of South Africa posted the following message: “Just finished a very inspiring meeting with Gambian civil society representatives and while challenges are huge so is courage & commitment.”

    Mr Barrow has found temporary sanctuary in neighboring Senegal at the advice of regional leaders, and will return home only when his inauguration is secured – possibly under the escort of West African troops.

    In the midst of the chaos, the president-elect learned to his chagrin that his eight year old son, Habibu, died after he was bitten by a dog near the capital Banjul.

    He was unable to return for his son’s funeral, which took place almost immediately, as required by Islamic law. Pictures posted on Twitter showed what appeared to be Habibu’s casket, covered in a black cotton shroud, being carried through a grove by mourners.

    Mr Jammeh, who ousted his predecessor Sir Dawda Jawara in a coup in 1994, once vowed to “rule for a billion years with the help of Allah.” Most recently he has shut independent radio stations, arrested activists and sent soldiers to storm the electoral commission.

    Declared Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita: “I dare to hope that African wisdom will convince our brother [to] understand the greater good for the Gambia, which does not need a bloodbath.” w/pix of GambiaHasDecided supporters