By Ebrima Mbaye
The Solo Sandeng Foundation inaugurated the Solo Sandeng Memorial Centre in The Gambia to mark the 9th anniversary of the April 14 peaceful protest. The centre is a tribute to the late pro-democracy activist Ebrima Solo Sandeng and victims of human rights abuses under Yahya Jammeh’s regime.
The commemoration united civil society, political leaders, and the victims’ community to honor Sandeng’s legacy.
Fatoumata Sandeng, the foundation’s Founder and CEO, reflected on its growth since 2017, emphasizing its mission to preserve the memory of the April 14, April 16, and May 9 protests, alongside advocating for security and electoral reforms. “The center will educate future generations about the atrocities from 1994 to 2017 to prevent their recurrence,” she said.
She added that the foundation has expanded its work to include advocacy on the security sector and electoral reforms. It also engages with the victims’ community on memorialization and accountability through national and international legal mechanisms, including universal jurisdiction cases.
“In the Gambia, ANEKED’s Memory House is the only space where people can access victim stories. We saw the need for more such centers to educate future generations about what happened from 1994 to 2017 and prevent a recurrence. That is why we established the Solo Sandeng Memorial Centre—to tell Solo’s story and those of other victims, including events like April 10 and 11,” she explained.
United Democratic Party leader Ousainou Darboe called Sandeng’s sacrifice pivotal to Gambia’s liberation, urging that the April 14 protest be taught in schools to instill values of patriotism. He noted pending reforms, including the repeal of the Public Order Act.
Solo’s death was the sine qua non of the Gambia’s liberation. Many things happened before, but his sacrifice galvanized Gambians to unite and bring about change.”
He emphasized the need to enshrine Solo’s legacy in the national consciousness and called for the April 14 protest to be included in the country’s civic education curriculum.
“Solo wished to be sacrificed if it would mean uprooting the Jammeh regime—and he was. Now, our children must learn about the values of sacrifice and patriotism. April has always been significant in his life—from the Fass Njaga Choi incident to his promotion within the party and ultimately his brave stand for electoral reform,” Darboe added, noting that reforms such as the repeal of the Public Order Act remain pending.
Aminata Drammeh, a foundation intern, presented a position paper on the proposed Police Bill 2024, developed with partners to align the Gambia Police Force with human rights standards like the African Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
She commended the Ministry of Interior for initiating the legal reform process, noting that the bill seeks to establish a robust legal framework for the command and operational conduct of the Gambia Police Force. The paper, she said, assesses the bill’s compliance with human rights instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The Solo Sandeng Memorial Centre stands as a lasting symbol of the fight for justice and democracy in The Gambia.
