Sections
DONATE
SUPPORT WWW.JOLLOFNEWS.COM
Account Login
Gambian killings: 20 families compensated
Friday, 07 January 2011 18:56
Twenty bereaved families of the July 2005 killings of Ghanaians and other nationals in the
Gambia have received various sums of money as compensation from the government, made available by the Gambian authorities.The beneficiary families include those of Prince Nkrumah Mensah, Isaac Kwadwo Ampadu, Richmond Addai, Kwaku Agyekum, Eric Kwesi Nketia and Kwabena Kissi whose bodies were recovered and brought to Ghana on October 18, 2009 were given state burial on December 10, 2010.
The only survivor, Martin Kyere, who broke the news of the gruesome killings had also been compensated.
Mrs Audrey Abayena, Assistant Director, Legal and Consular Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, who told the Times on Wednesday about the payment said the bereaved families were paid "fixed sums" but could not disclose the figure because her outfit was not directly involved.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni, in an answer to a question in Parliament last year said the Gambian government had made available 500,000 dollars as compensation to the victims of the killings.
It formed part of recommendations made by an ECOWAS and UN team of investigators who probed the incident.
The team recommended the exhumation of the bodies for a befitting burial in line with customary practices to be accompanied by payment of compensation following which Ghana and the Gambia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to begin implementing the recommendations therein.
Eight bodies were exhumed and six were identified as Ghanaians.
Mrs Abayena said a lot of consultations had gone into the determination of the rightful families for the payment of the compensation, adding that the families were engaged in a series of meetings culminating in the state burial, followed by the payment of the compensation.
Asked whether the families were satisfied with what was given them, Mrs Abayena said since the moneys were paid to them in December last year "we have not heard of any complaint. No amount of money could equate the loss of life, the money was not meant to replace the lives lost, it is only a symbolic gesture."
The Ghanaians were among 40 people believed to be nationals of the sub region travelling through the Gambia in July 2005, apparently to Europe in search of greener pastures, when they came up against the Gambian security forces.
They were arrested but some of them, including the Ghanaians were later found killed and dumped in the Tanji forest in The Gambia. The bodies were later buried in a mass grave.
Martin Kyere, who claimed to have escaped the arrest later, broke the news of the killings to the Ghanaian authorities leading to preliminary investigations that established that they were killed by some elements within the Gambia security agency.
The account of the circumstances leading to the arrest and killings was initially disputed by the Gambia authorities necessitating the empanelling of a UN and ECOWAS forensic experts to conduct further investigations.
The UN and ECOWAS team of experts in their findings though did not find the Gambian government culpable but blamed the killing on "some rogues within the Gambia security agency."
It also emerged from the investigations that the aborted trip that resulted in the disappearance and killings of the people was a scam perpetrated by "rogues", Lamine Tunkana and Captain Taylor both of The Gambia.
Source: Times
Jollofnews Poll
Who do you think should be the next President of The Gambia?
Follow us on Twitter
-
Doctor Who star runs with torchDoctor Who star Matt Smith, former Wales rugby captain Matthew Rees and world hurdles champion...
-
Lesotho holds tense electionMASERU (Reuters) - Voters in the highland African kingdom of Lesotho went to the polls...
-
Bristol Rovers Speed Merchant Could Be Racing To Posh(GamSports) – Peterborough United are thought to be one of a number of Championship sides...
Comments
But because they did not act decisively.
I applaud the online newspapers and the online community...for salvaging some dignity for The Gambia..and The Gambian people.
The endless list of unsolved crimes becomes a great embarressment to West Africa.
Yet The Gambia can find excuse to jail Femi Peters and the GPU 6 and taunt human rights workers.
It can also find any witness to condemn alledged coupists...and destroy innocent families.
But cannot find the resolve to bring murderers and torturers to justice.
The list of shame...is a burning flame that cries out for Gods justice.
"May those who remain forever guilty burn in the hottest part of Hell"
My sincere condolancies to those beareaved or forcefully separated from there innocent lives and families.
The least those clown parliamentarian s could have done was to insist on compensation as a condition for passing the indemnity bill, but what we have in that House is people who would jump into a well to please the Emperor.
Dont worry brother, the compensation is a trap against the gambia govt.Gambia govt is guilty thats why they accepted to compensate and accepted the exhumation of the bodies to Ghana for a befiting burial.The international community were looking for evidence about the killings and they have that now.Dont be suprise in the future when the case is mention on the ICC.
RSS feed for comments to this post.