By Tabora Bojang
The National Human Rights Commission will seek an explanation from the ministries of justice and interior regarding the president’s pardoning of prisoners that includes convicted rapists and a murderer.
President Adama Barrow used his powers to pardon 37 prisoners from the country’s correctional centres Friday. The list includes former permanent secretary Dr Bamba Banja who was serving 2 years for corruption and others convicted of rape.
Several complaints were raised ever since the news broke.
Speaking to The Standard yesterday following our request for clarifications, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Emmanuel D Joof said the commission was not part of the committee that recommended the pardons and they were not also consulted in the process.
He said the NHRC is ‘very concerned’ about the pardons because it concerns cases of serious offences.
“We are writing to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior both of whom sit in that committee to find out the rationale for recommending the pardoning of the five rapists and a convicted murderer. We are concerned. We want to know what criteria was used because we are dealing with cases of very serious offences. Usually, you do not pardon people who have been convicted of very serious offences which involve human rights violation such as rape and murder. Even before you pardon people like rapists and murderers, there is usually a supervision order that will ensure that they are monitored even after their release to make sure they will not commit similar offences because a lot of people who commit these offences sometimes are repeated offenders. So even when they are going to change their accommodation, they will have to contact social services like the director of social welfare and the office of the IGP. Are all these things done?” Chairman Joof quizzed.
Joof, an international human rights lawyer, added: “Another worry that we [NHRC] have is that today everybody talks about the rise in criminal cases especially gender-based violence and homicide and if you release people like that without following proper guidelines, you are sending the wrong signals and as Human Rights Commission we do not want people to resort to mob justice. We want everybody to abide by the rule of law. Because if people feel nothing will come out of it or the justice system is weak then they may resort to mob justice.”
He said the commission will not only seek clarification but would also offer advice and provide the government with criteria that other common law jurisdictions use to recommend to the president for people to be pardoned.
Asked if the commission will recommend for its inclusion in the committee tasked with recommending who should be pardoned, Chairman Joof said the involvement of the commission in the committee will give it a human rights dimension.
The commission, he added, is also raising the issue with the standing committee of the National Assembly on human rights because they also have that mandate to look into it.
