By Lamin Cham
An executive member of the former ruling APRC party Bakary ‘Bakso’ Jaiteh has urged President Adama Barrow “to give a deaf ear” to plans to establish a special tribunal to try Jammeh-era crimes.
Speaking in an audio shared with The Standard, Mr Jaiteh said the decision to set up the tribunal emanated from the truth commission recommendations which he said were replete with falsehoods and discredited by political manipulations.
Jaiteh said the TRRC process was instituted by a government that was in opposition to the one being investigated, raising doubts about its fairness.
”And just as we suspected, key members of the TRRC later showed interest in politics. There were also provocations with senior citizens being humiliated and intimidated,” he said.
Mr Jaiteh who is the coordinator general of the APRC faction that is no longer backed by former president Jammeh, said the TRRC process failed to cover major events such as attempted deadly coups by people some of whom had leading roles in the TRRC investigations.
Jaiteh said the government should focus on reconciliation and payment of reparations to victims. He said The Gambia should follow such transitional justice models rather than trying to prosecute people some of whom are innocent.
”How can you accuse people who are in uniform of executing their duties? Is that not the reason why people don’t respect our police and service people nowadays?” he asked rhetorically.
