On
the evening of Thursday, November 21, the last day of the TRRC’s public
hearings on the witch hunt in Jambur, some Commissioners and staff of the
Commission paid an impromptu visit to a nearby bridge where the charred remains
of murdered former AFPRC Finance minister Ousman Koro Ceesay were found on the
morning of June 22, 1995.
The
unplanned visit by the TRRC team including the chair, the deputy chair and
other Commissioners and staff came at the end of a four-day week of public
hearings on the experiences of witch hunt victims in the villages of Jambur,
Makumbaya and Galoyaa. The Commission thought it fit to take advantage of
Jambur’s proximity to the site to conduct a brief, unplanned visit.
While
circumstances surrounding the murder of the former finance minister remain
unclear, several witnesses appearing before the Commission as well as news
reports from June 1995 confirm that Koro Ceesay’s charred remains were found in
his car on that bridge, just about a hundred meters from the Jambur junction.
The TRRC is continuing investigations into Koro Ceesay’s murder and the
Commission expects to hear more testimonies on the case in 2020.
The
TRRC encourages anyone who has any useful knowledge or information related to
the murder of Ousman Koro Ceesay to please reach out and help the Commission,
Koro’s family, and the Gambian people get to the bottom of this tragic
incident. Witnesses are assured total confidentiality and their identities may
only be disclosed if they so wish. Witnesses with such information need not
testify – either publicly or in camera - and will not be asked to testify
unless they express a desire to do so. Witness protection services will also be
available for those who would need it.
