The families of the 44 Ghanaians who were killed in 2005 across the Gambian border broke down in tears after attending a forum organised by the Jammeh2Justice Ghana Campaign, a civil society coalition which is demanding action against the perpetrators including the former Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh.
This follows new revelations by the two members of the Junglers who confessed taking part in the mass killing of Ghanaians in the Gambia in July 2005.
The soldiers, Lieutenant Malick Jatta and Corporal Omar A. Jallow recently revealed to Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that the migrants were executed by the “Junglers” squad, a paramilitary force that took orders from Jammeh, across the Gambian border in Senegalese territory.
Families of the deceased want the government of Ghana to ensure that justice is served to bring closure to the matter.
Although the Government of Ghana had promised to re-open its investigations into the massacre, the affected families say not much has been done.
Amidst tears, the bereaved families said the killing of their relatives who were mostly breadwinners had affected their living.
One of the relatives said: “Jammeh, how will I cope with my life and that of my children? President of our nation, I am appealing to you to intervene in this matter and help us get justice.
My only issue is Eric, my son was my hope because I knew he could help me and his other siblings. So if Jammeh has killed my son, why not come and kill me too”.
Another woman who also spoke at the forum pleaded that “All that I would like to say is that the authorities should come in and help us to get justice.”
Martin Kyere, the sole survivor of the massacre urged the Ghana government and the national assembly members to take interest in the case.
“I know that the first person who heard this message is the President and the Attorney-General.
They all know that it is Yahya Jammeh himself who ordered for the killing of Ghanaians and now the ball is in the bosom of the Ghanaian authorities to show interest that indeed that we all deserve to have justice”, he stressed.
The Executive for CDD-Ghana, Franklin Oduro said they will push until justice is served.
“So we thought that with the revelation that has come, we need to begin to engage the Government of Ghana to reopen the case and seek to bring Yahya Jammeh to justice,” he emphasized.
The Jammeh2Justice Ghana Campaign is a joint group of civil society groups including the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Africa Center for International Law and Accountability, Amnesty International, Human Rights Advocacy Center (HRAC), POS Foundation, and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI).
Sources: GhanaWeb
