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ECOWAS court ruling against Gambia Govt is ‘victory for democracy’
Saturday, 25 December 2010 22:06
By JollofNews Staff WriterMusa Saidykhan, a Gambian journalist who was subjected to torture by President Yahya Jammeh’s henchmen have dedicated his legal victory to his fallen colleagues and all human rights defenders all over the world.
“I am delighted that this long, tedious and rocky journey to justice has finally come to an end with such resounding victory, an obvious significant factor in our quest to establish a society free of all forms of human rights violations…”
The December 16 ruling by the Abuja based ECOWAS Community Court which found the Gambian government guilty of torturing its own citizen serves as strong reminder of the condition under which Gambians live since 1994.
Interestingly, the day of this landmark ruling coincided with the sixth anniversary of the brutal murder of another journalist, Deyda Hydara, by people suspected to be state security agents. That unsolved murder and the arrest and continued disappearance of journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh also serve as another ineffaceable blemish in the consciousness of the Gambian society. These, according to Saidykhan, were the reason why his reaction to the Abuja ruling has come so late. He said he received the verdict with mixed feelings.
“It was like being blown with hot and cold air at the same time,” Saidykhan said.
And he added: “I would have been much happier had Deyda Hydara’s killers been brought to justice and punished for their heinous crime, or if the government comes public with what had happened to Ebrima Manneh whose whereabouts remains mysterious, despite being arrested and detained by the very
government that swore to protect him.”Nonetheless Saidykhan is delighted that after years of denial and vigorous defense “aimed at covering the truth” the sub regional court proved to the whole world that the Gambian government is guilty of illegal arrest and torture. He called the ruling a restoration of his human dignity.
The ECOWAS court ruling also brought to light the problems of highly prejudiced Gambian legal system. As Saidykhan put it: “Our legal system is so rotten that majority of Gambians have preferred to cry in silence… a mockery of democracy, rule of law and justice delivery system.”
He however expressed regret that the people who led his torture had long since “joined their ancestors”.
Major Musa Jammeh and Tumbul Tamba, cousins of President Yahya, both of whom died in some mysterious circumstances, have been linked to some of the most heinous torture crimes committed under Yahya Jammeh’s watch. Saidykhan said they would have been buried in shame, had they been here to witness this ruling, or received heavy punches from their master (Jammeh) “who is fond of exonerating himself from blame when things go wrong.”
The entire statement by Musa Saidykhan can be listened to on our radio section above.
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Comments
They surely are getting their reward now... modesty demands in our African traddition that we speak good of the dead, but some people, because of the deed while alive, forfeit that treatment. You cant live the life of a savage, brutalising people, and expects to be remembered well; hell no!
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