By Mafugi Ceesay
The head of the Victims Centre Gambia, Sheriff Kijera, has said granting amnesty to Sanna Sabally, former Vice Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council, is “outrageous and disheartening”.
Kijera spoke on Saturday 19, March 2022 at a press conference convened by the center, following reports that the amnesty committee set up after the TRRC process ended has recommended granting amnesty to Sanna Sabally.
.
Kijera said his institution is “disappointed, devastated and disheartened” by the committee’s decision.
“We are is disappointed, devastated and it’s disheartened by the decision taken by the truth commission.
“After all the hard work and tremendous that they have done in the work of the commission, for them to only come up with amnesty recommendations for an alleged killer; who confessed to participating in the extra-judicial, unlawful, killings of 11 innocent soldiers that were captured and in their custody,
“Sanna Sabally confessed to being in the command responsibility, and taken part in the shooting of these 11 soldiers that were in their alleged detention. I think that is wrong; we are disappointed in this action of the truth commission.
“We have a memorandum of understanding with the truth commission, but we were not consulted before coming with such decision.”
Muhammed Sandeng read a statement on behalf of the families of victims of November 11th, 1994 and other victims of human rights violations during the regime of Yahya Jammeh.
It was produced together with a coalition of Gambian organisations, and it condemned “in the strongest possible terms the approval of an amnesty for former AFPRC vice chairman Sanna Sabally by the truth commission Amnesty Committee and commissioners.”
It urge the Gambia government, through the Minister of Justice to disregard this recommendation.
Among the speakers at the press conference were the wives and family members of the soldiers killed, among them Fatou Sowe, wife of late Fafa Nyang, Isatou Marong, a family member of late Sergeant Basirou Camara, and Adama Jallow.
