By Omar Bah
Madi Ceesay, the National Assembly Member for Serekunda West has confirmed to The Standard that he will testify at the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission hearing.
Ceesay, who claimed to have been tortured under the former regime, said victims of Jammeh cannot have closure if the truth is not established. He also advised the victims to come out and support the TRRC to achieve its goals.
“So for me the TRRC is the beginning of establishing the truth of all the unjust and trampling on people’s rights and other abuses during the last regime. It means a lot to me and there is a need for victims to make good use of this opportunity and explain what had happened to them or their families,” he noted.
He added: “For me, I can only forgive on the basis that the people who violated my rights confess to me. I was beaten while I was in detention at the NIA and unfortunately the two people I can identify are all dead now (Tumbul Tamba and Musa Jammeh) but then there are people who were working at the institution who are still alive. That is my position as a victim. I want to see them stand before my face and say I did this to you. If they have that courage then I will also have the courage to forgive them. I hope at the end of the day the truth will be established.”
Ceesay said he did not share the opinion that the TRRC will create divisions. “To me it will bring more unity because as it is now, victims are very angry because the truth is not yet established. But once the truth is established there cannot be any division,” he said.
Mr Ceesay also took time to call on the government to avoid creating the situations Jammeh created.
“The government should see themselves as a transition government and focus on reform. I am very optimistic that Gambia is on the right track and I am sure that we can never again go back to the past and no other person will ever stay for more than ten years in this country,” he concluded.
Madi Ceesay vows to testify at TRRC
