WOMAN SHOT WITH DEYDA HYDARA TO SUE FOR COMPENSATION

By Omar Bah The lawyer for Nyang Sarang Jobe, a young lady who was in the same car with Deyda Hydara when he was killed in 2004, has announced she is filing a lawsuit against the Gambia Government, seeking compensation. Madam Jobe was one of two eyewitnesses in the car when unidentified gunmen sprayed bullets on Hydara, killing him on the spot. Madam Jobe reportedly received injuries in the leg and she is believed to be suffering from excruciating pain and very strong physical and psychological distress. She was taken to Senegal for medical treatment immediately after the incident. “The lawsuit will very soon be in the High Court,” Jobe’s lawyer Malick Jallow said yesterday at the Victims Centre. “What we are seeking is that the High Court compels the Government of the Gambia to provide compensation to her. We believe the decision to compensate some of the victims of the Deyda Hydara incident leaving out Nyang is discriminatory and a violation of her human rights as enshrined in the 1997 constitution,” said lawyer Jallow. However, Jallow was not specific as to how much monetary compensation they will be looking for. The family of Hydara was reported to have been half way settled with the amount ordered by the Ecowas court, which urged The Gambia government to compensate his family. Lawyer Jallow said it is discriminatory for Government to ignore Nyang Jobe while the family of Hydara was compensated, as both are victims of the same state-sanctioned attack. The Barrow administration has inherited millions of dalasis in legal liabilities, including $200, 000 torture suit won by journalist Musa Saidykhan and $100, 000 to be paid to the family of disappeared journalist Ebrima Manneh half of which is reported to have been paid. Unconfirmed reports have also stated that government is in negotiations with Saidykhan over mode of payment. Jobe will be the first victim to file a lawsuit]]>