He told veteran journalist Peter Gomez on his Coffee Time Show that President Barrow initially insisted, letting the parole committee know that he was not going to sign the amnesty due to the nature of the cases.
He added that President Barrow authorised the committee to meet the victims’ families and seek forgiveness before his approval, which they did.
In the case of Pap Ibrahim Khalilulaye Thiam, Sankareh explained that Thiam is a Senegalese professional tailor who murdered a Gambian citizen at a tender age. He said no decent human being would condone such a murderer. However, he said, throughout his three years in Mile 2 Prison, the man suffered ‘terminal illness’ and had undergone three painful surgeries.
“Based on the doctors' diagnoses, they concluded that the circumstances at Mile 2 Prison are not conducive to his health situation. They thought it would be better if he got a private facility, which was going to cost a lot to the government,” he explained. “When the parole committee, after several reviews, concluded that he was qualified for amnesty given his terminal illness, President Barrow refused to sign the documents.”
Sankareh added that Barrow insisted that they meet the victims’ families and seek their forgiveness to have him deported to Senegal, where he would undergo his final stages of treatment. He said that procedure was undertaken with the involvement of the Christian Council, the Supreme Islamic Council, Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Health and the Security Services.
On Nfamara Saidykhan, who was also given amnesty after serving 14 years in Mile 2 Prison, Sankareh said Saidykhan was convicted at age 29 and was jailed for life.
“Saidykhan is a Gambian from Jarra, who is now 43,” he elaborated. ” The president also insisted that they meet the families of his victims. In the case of Yankuba Njie, he was 27 years at the time of his conviction in 2011 at Fajikunda for kidnapping and rape. He spent 13 years in prison and he is now a 40-year old. Similarly, the victims’ families were met and they said they have forgiven him.”
Dwelling on the case of Dr Banja Bamba, ex-Fisheries Permanent Secretary who was convicted of corruption, Sankareh highlighted that Dr Banja was given amnesty by Barrow after paying his fines to the tune of a million dalasis, including all other costs associated with him.
He added that the plea of mitigation by his lawyer was that Banja was suffering from ill health and that was not going to work well for him at Mile 2.
He said: “Despite that, he served almost a year at Mile 2 out of the two-year jail term. If you were charged with a corruption allegation of D100,000 and you ended up paying one million dalasis and served a jail term of a year, I think it is justifiable amnesty.”
