In yesterday’s edition of The Point, we ran a story in which the government of Equatorial Guinea led by Teodoro Obiang Ngueme Mbasogo has now accepted to relocate Yahya Jammeh, ex-Gambian dictator from where he is currently hiding since his ouster from office in 2017.
This comes amid mounting pressure from the international community to hand over the former Gambian President to stand trial for crimes he committed during his 22 years reign in power.
After years of defiance, the Equatorial Guinea strongman, Obiang Ngueme is about to bow down. This development is not only welcoming, but would go a long way in healing old wounds and ensuring that justice is served for his victims.
A renowned American black supremacist and anti-white cult leader, who heads the Nation of Islam, Luis Farakhan once said that 'there really can be no peace without justice and there can be no justice without truth. Likewise, there can be no truth unless someone rises up to tell you the truth.'
This assertion clearly reminds us of the need to ensure justice is nurtured at all times. A lot of serious crimes were committed during Jammeh's reign. However, most of these crimes were perpetuated by his hit squad or enablers on his orders.
Going through witness statements and harrowing testimonies at the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, a commission set up to uncover the past atrocities and chart a way forward, is enough to draw a conclusion.
Certainly, Jammeh’s victims will not relent until he is prosecuted for the crimes he committed.
In the past, human right groups have always intensified their call to prosecute Jammeh for the crimes committed in The Gambia, while his host in President Mbasogo continues his defiance to allow him to live in that country.
Since the indictment in Switzerland of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister under Yahya Jammeh, irrefutable and unquestionable evidence revealed indicated that the ex-Gambian dictator must also be charged. Because closely looking at Jammeh and Sonko’s case, one would spot similarities in that he used his enablers or hit squads to commit crimes.
Similarly, the United Nations also formally recommended that all cases of “human right violations in The Gambia must be investigated and perpetrators prosecuted without further delay”.
Even the CSOs and other right advocates living in Equatorial Guinea are not happy with his stay.
"A president cannot defend a nation if he is not held accountable to its laws"
DaShanne Stokes