Gambians Glued to YouTube as President’s Hit Squad Confesses / Deposed President President Yahya Jammeh in a visit to Obama White House
Deposed Gambian President Jahya Jammeh, a strong ally of the US, was a mass killer whose henchmen are now confessing on streaming media.
“Jammeh is in exile in Equatorial Guinea, where he has been granted refuge.”
Truth is stranger than fiction and in the west African nation of Gambia, the truth has galvanized citizens with former members of the exiled president’s hit squad admit to murder and other atrocities.
Gambians are watching the confessions, given in a highly public truth and reconciliation commission hearing, that are being streamed live on a YouTube channel.
The hit squad once worked for President Yahya Jammeh – a leader who created a culture of fear and misinformation until his defeat two years ago in a national election after which he escaped into exile.
Investigators are now questioning these accused killers in what some experts have called the most accessible truth commission in history. Killers and victims are interviewed as to the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of people. Their testimonies are streamed on YouTube, Facebook, TV and radio, directly into phones and homes around the country.
Viewers recently listened raptly as Malick Jatta confessed to shooting one of Gambia’s best-known journalists. He said the kill order came right from the former president. “I’m sorry,” he said, and hung his head.
Admitted killers are being released after their testimony. Mr. Jammeh is in exile in Equatorial Guinea, where he has been granted refuge and no one knows if he will ever be prosecuted.
“The hearings are expected to last two years.”
Baba Hydara, the son of the Deyda Hydara, the murdered journalist, found cold comfort in the grisly confession. “They say that it helps with closure,” he said. “That’s a lie.”
Witnesses are testifying in English and local languages, including Mandinka and Wolof; a sign language interpreter follows along. The hearings, which began in January, are expected to last two years.
Among the victims were two American citizens – Alhagie Ceesay and Ebou Jobe. The former was a Chevron employee who lived in Houston. Mr. Jobe, a father of three, worked for Wal-Mart. Confessions were also produced for the killing of 56 West African migrants, accused of being mercenaries.
Omar Jallow, a hit squad member, testified that Mr. Jammeh had ordered that the Americans be killed and “chopped into pieces.” His team then “took plastic bags and they put them over their heads and they strangulated them” then “cut off their heads,” before burying them.
At the end, the commission will make recommendations as to who holds the greatest responsibility for atrocities, and the attorney general will decide whom to prosecute. But a major point of contention is that some perpetrators will go free in exchange for their testimony – reminiscent of the debate in South Africa after the fall of apartheid. That debate simmers to this day.
COMMENTS?
Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport
Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com
Johanna Fernandez is an Associate Professor of history at Baruch College, and a longtime advocate for political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. She joins us from New York City to discuss the loss of his…
Efia Nwangaza discusses her participation in the first session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, a mechanism that emerged from the 2001 Durban world conference against racism.
Sara Flounders joins us to discuss her work as editor of the newly published anthology, 'Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy.' The book is an analysis of U.S. unilateral coercive measures…
The open white supremacy and fascism exhibited in Ukraine are conveniently swept under the rug. Nazis are bad, unless they serve the interests of the U.S. state.
A round-up of The Black Agenda Review’s posts from 2022 – and a reprint of Haiti’s January 1, 1804 declaration of independence.
