By Tabora Bojang
A victim of former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh has said the planned prosecution of the former president and his henchmen should not be left in the hands of the United States government or donor agencies, as it is entirely the responsibility of the Gambian state.
Sheriff Kijera, once head of the victims’ organisation, was reacting to concerns expressed by American human rights lawyer Reed Brody who opined that US president DonaldTrump’s executive order freezing most US foreign aid may affect Gambia’s transitional justice process.
Kijera explained that the matter is not a US problem and whatever support the US government will give will only complement the Gambia government’s effort to enhance the smooth operation of the implementation of the TRRC recommendations.
Kijera, a strong critic of government’s handling of the transitional justice process continued: “Looking at the 2025 budget the money allocated for post TRRC prosecutions is a pittance. I heard the Ministry of Justice was allocated just D20 million to set up the Special Prosecutor Office but that is a very little amount compared to what the minister of justice is requesting, which is about $60 million. So what is the Gambia government’s stake in that huge amount of money? You cannot depend on your justice system entirely on foreign aid and begging all over the world. During the OIC summit the government spent hundreds of millions on luxury cars. So how about an important thing like TRRC, victims reparation and prosecutions?’’, Kijera said.
He however assured fellow victims that Jammeh will be tried, because that is an international effort.
“The Gambia government needs to engage Ecowas and see how to mobilise resources but it too must make a very generous commitment towards all the funds,” Kijera warned.
He described Trump’s freezing order as a blessing in disguise as it will serve as a wakeup call for countries perennially embroiled with bad governance, bad leadership, corruption, mismanagement of public funds and lack of transparency.
