In a center in the Gambia’s capital, Banjul, Mariama Marong Baldeh lifts an old photograph of herself and her deceased husband, a Gambian soldier, recalling a happy memory.
The photo was taken before the 1994 execution of her husband, Basiru Barrow. He had been accused of taking part in a mutiny against a military junta led by former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh.
Years on, Mariama is still waiting for justice.
Photo: AFP
A presidential election was taking place in the small west African nation yesterday — over which the legacy of Jammeh still casts a shadow.
Jammeh seized power in 1994 and for 22 years he oversaw a regime accused of committing abuses such as state-sanctioned murder, torture and rape.
Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after losing an election to a relative unknown, Adama Barrow.
However, he retains considerable support in the Gambia, and his possible return from exile and how the country should respond to his alleged crimes have been central themes in the run-up to yesterday’s poll.
There are fears that moves to placate the pro-Jammeh bloc in Gambian politics will hamper a years-long push to put the former leader, and his associates, on trial.
“Justice has to be done,” Mariama told reporters.
However, she is not certain it will be.
Under Barrow, the Gambian government set up the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to probe allegations of Jammeh-era abuses.
Between 2019 and May, the panel heard hundreds of witnesses, who offered testimony about death squads, rape and witch hunts under Jammeh.
Mariama testified to the commission in 2019, alongside her husband’s first wife.
Last month, the commission handed the government its long-awaited findings and urged it to pursue criminal charges.
Neither the report, nor the names of the officials the commission deemed responsible, were made public.
Although it appears to be a win for rights groups, few are confident that the government will follow through on the report’s recommendations, chiefly because of a perceived rapprochement between Barrow and Jammeh supporters.
In September, ignoring public outrage, Barrow’s National People’s Party formed an alliance with Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction party, in what was viewed as an electoral ploy.
However, Jammeh subsequently said that the pact was formed without his knowledge and his supporters formed a rival party.
Barrow has six months to respond the commission’s report and has promised justice, although he has urged people to be patient.
Opposition leader Ousainou Darboe, the president’s main electoral rival, simply laughed when asked by reporters whether Barrow would implement the recommendations.
Mariama said there was a “question mark” hanging over the justice process because it is being overseen by the president.
Some people deeply involved in seeking justice for Jammeh victims remain hopeful, despite their skepticism of the government.
Reed Brody, an American lawyer who works with Jammeh-era victims, said that an ideal scenario would involve the Gambian government launching criminal proceedings.
Taking Jammeh cases to international criminal courts remains a possibility, Brody said, adding that many officials outside of the Gambia are unwilling to let the former leader off the hook.
“One way or another, whether it is a court in the Gambia, a regional court, an international court, there needs to be justice,” he said.
For commission spokesman Essa Jallow, the success of the truth commission process has been in establishing facts about the 22 years of dictatorial rule in the Gambia.
“One of the objectives of the TRRC is to provide an impartial record, and that record will remain in our history,” Jallow said. “What we cannot change is the history.”
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