By Saul Saidykhan
Enquiring minds might wonder why Jammeh is still engaged in playing cruel head games with his innocent followers.
The answer lies in plain sight. Jammeh is playing head games with his clueless followers because of the plethora of pending charges against him! Contrary to his claims, there was no “stay-out-of-jail” guarantee in the 2017 deal. And Jammeh faces very serious charges both domestically and internationally.
Domestically, the two Commissions that were set up to investigate his rule both unearthed incontrovertible evidence of his criminality. The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) which investigated human rights abuses during his rule found concrete evidence of hundreds of extrajudicial murders, abductions, torture, forced disappearances, sexual violence, and routine arrests and jailing of innocent Gambians – political opponents, journalists, activists, alleged putschists, students, and ordinary citizens. Several of these stood out.
1. The cold-blooded murder of 11 soldiers in 1994.
2. The cold-blooded murder of Finance Minister Ousman Koro Ceesay in 1995.
3. The killing of 14 students and maiming of several others in 2000.
4. The murder of the prominent critic and newspaper editor, Deyda Hydara in 2004.
5. The cold-blooded murder of 56 west African migrants in 2005.
6. The bizarre “Witch Hunting” in 2009 that resulted in the death of several elderly people.
7. The cold-blooded murder of his former bosom buddy Baba Jobe while under prison custody in 2011.
8. The execution of Alhaji Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe in 2013.
9. The murder of Solo Sandeng and other opposition members in 2016 which was what finally sparked the protest that led to the end of his regime.
The second body – the Financial Crimes or “Janneh Commission” which investigated illicit Financial dealings under him also found evidence of large-scale theft of State resources. Jammeh is directly tied to the looting of hundreds of millions of US dollars from the Gambian treasury through a web of fronts, shady companies, and “presidential accounts” he controlled.
Also found was evidence that Jammeh owned over 280 properties in the country mostly through illegal or coerced acquisition. He had made the widespread seizure of communal or private lands and properties for himself and his associates normal.
The international dimension of his crimes is headlined by the 2005 execution of over fifty West African migrants he falsely accused of being mercenaries sent to unseat him. Also, both the 2009 Witch Hunts, and phony AIDS Cure charade in which many victims were coerced into abandoning scientific treatments for their deadly disease for Jammeh’s cruel quackery are considered crimes against humanity in some international circles.
While there is no active case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) yet, the evidence gathered by the TRRC is seen as a potential basis for a future ICC prosecution.
Already, the ECOWAS Court of Justice has found Jammeh’s government liable for violations of the rights of several victim journalists who have sued.
Jammeh’s only defense against all these severe human rights and financial crime charges lobbed at him is the claim one fan of his told me twice: “there is no evidence that he gave the orders for the withdrawal of millions of dollars from our central bank, or the killing of anyone.” How convenient!
At first glance, this is true. But there is such a thing as something being “too perfect or convenient.” This is a tyrant who is known to be a micro-manager. So, the fact that he never signed his name on any document to illicitly withdraw state funds from public institutions or a warrant to arrest, torture, or execute anyone is not a sign of innocence or genius. Rather, it’s evidence of his calculating and manipulative nature. In fact, it shows that most of the high-profile crimes he committed were not random but premeditated!
See, from evidence gathered by the two Commissions, Jammeh’s deceptive pattern is crystal clear and consistent. We can safely deduce that Jammeh planned or thought through most of these shocking crimes, painstakingly ensured he did NOT leave any fingerprints (by refraining from signing pertinent documents), but coercing or manipulating minions to do so. In most of the egregious crimes, he also ensured that there were no witnesses when he issued VERBAL orders personally or through phone calls to his Chief Overseer of those particular crimes!
A major problem for him is that this won’t be a “He-sad, He-sad” scenario, but a “He-sad versus dozens of former close aides or associates said.” Given his record of duplicity and lack of character or decorum (e.g. what he did to the Liberian leader during the Impasse,) there is no court on earth that will believe Jammeh over dozens of firsthand witnesses.
As such, Jammeh and his fans banking on “lack of evidence” as his “get-out-of-jail” ticket better rethink. Based mostly on partial evidence found by the TRRC, four cohorts or Enforcers of his – one in Gambia, and three in the West have been convicted and are now serving long jail terms for doing his bidding. So, the chance of Jammeh walking free is slim to none.
What would have really helped Jammeh at least in terms of goodwill would be doing an earnest mea culpa and offering a sincere apology to the large number of Gambians he had violated in various ways. Instead, as has been his signature, anytime he speaks, he makes more enemies for himself.
His lack of remorse for what he did, and constant provocation of both the authorities and regular Gambians including some of his long-term ardent supporters will only haunt him. It’s a measure of Jammeh’s implacable and arrogant nature that he continues to publicly humiliate and dismiss his loudest defenders from his party.
The glaring fact is, there is a direct conflict between the 2017 political deal (which implied safety for Jammeh) and the persistent widespread demand for justice and accountability. The Gambian government, under pressure from victims, civil society, and the international community has no option but to prosecute him.
Though Equatorial Guinea, where Jammeh resides, has no extradition treaty with The Gambia, the ONLY shield he has is having the 82-year-old Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo remain in office.
The younger Teodoro who is his kleptocratic father’s heir apparent has been in the crosshairs of western predators for over a decade. To make matters better for himself, he would not hesitate to hand Jammeh over to ECOWAS – something our Evil Genuis knows very well unlike the clueless loudmouths spewing nonsense for him. Ignorance, like they say, is blissful!
