Survivors and families of victims of The Gambian massacre have expressed worry about delays by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in releasing its report on the matter.
Martin Kyere, a spokesperson for the survivors and a victim himself, feels the delays are a “deliberate attempt to deny us the justice we deserve.”
He escaped with his life when 44 Ghanaians were murdered in The Gambia in July 2005 under President Yahya Jammeh.
In July 2019, three former members of a paramilitary unit cum death squad, the Junglers, admitted that they and 12 others had carried out the killings on Jammeh’s orders.
Speaking at a news conference in Kumasi, Mr. Kyere also called on stakeholders like the National Assembly of The Gambia, UN, AU, ECOWAS, and other stakeholders in international justice to “call on the TRRC to release the final report as a matter of urgency.”
The Coordinator for the Jammeh to Justice Ghana Campaign, William Nyarko, also said the commission must take steps in releasing the report to give assurance to victims and their families.
For him, the recent alliance between Gambia President Adama Barrow and the now-exiled Jammeh, ahead of elections in December, was a cause for concern.
“This is not a good signal to the victims, and I think the TRRC and the administration should have released this report by now. It is the duty of the TRRC to release this report. They concluded their hearings in May.”
The TRRC was tasked to investigate the killing of some West African Migrants, including 44 Ghanaians, who were passing through The Gambia from Senegal to seek greener pastures in Europe in 2005.
It heard testimony from nearly 400 people from January 2019 to May 2021 about Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
The witnesses gave evidence about torture, rape, and killings sanctioned by the State and often at the hands of the Junglers.
