By: Adama Makasuba
Sainey Senghore a victim of 2000 April 10 and 11 has told the Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commission that the former vice president Isatou Njie-Saidy accused the students of starting the shooting.
Mr Senghore who was 17-years-old at the time described the remark of Isatou Njie-Saidy as bizarre and that she was accusing ‘the students of shooting at the security personnel.’
“The unfortunate part of it was his (Yahya Jammeh) representative who was in charged was a woman(Isatou Njie-Saidy) who knows what it cause when you see your children’s in certain conditions was the first person who came out to say the shooting started from the students.”
“But the sad story is there were no security personnel who had a brush on his body so her saying that means she was totally aware of what was happening and the situation at the time, she too is responsible of what had happened to the students,” he said.
He said the former vice president made the remark on the state broadcaster
He said a number of 14 students were illegally shot by Gambian security personnel in which some killed and dozen others injured whom he said were only carrying their books, pens and pencils.
He said the then president Yahya Jammeh visited them at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital and that Doctors on the ground were telling him that they (admitted student’s) would get well, adding that Jammeh brought them provisions of biscuit, cornflakes and juice but that he didn’t eat it.
He said later the then government established a Commission looking into the circumstances in August 2000but that nothing fruitful came out of that Commission.
The Commission made their recommendations but all those that were to be prosecuted were being indemnified, this is what bring about the indemnify bill and there is impunity and broad indemnity out it. This was to indemnify the perpetrators who shot at students and those that were responsible in killing of the students,” he said.