Gambians want extraditing former president Yahya Jammeh and prosecuting perpetrators of crimes during his administration.
“In Gambia, support is growing for prosecuting perpetrators of crimes during Jammeh administration, extraditing Jammeh A growing number of Gambians want perpetrators of crimes and human-rights abuses during former President Yahya Jammeh’s administration to be tried in court,” the latest Afrobarometer study showed.
“Over the past three years, the proportion of citizens in favour of seeking Jammeh’s extradition has also increased significantly. However, opinions are divided on the government’s decision to sell Jammeh’s properties and on whether he should be allowed to return to the country.
“The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was established by Parliament in December 2017 as part of a broad transitional-justice mechanism to address human-rights abuses under Jammeh’s regime and prevent their recurrence. After two years of televised public hearings, the commission is expected to submit its final report to President Adama Barrow in September 2021. Although widely credited with highlighting past human-rights abuses, the commission has also been engulfed in controversies, including accusations of conducting a witch-hunt against Jammeh,” it added.
“Key findings ▪ Almost three-fourths (73%) of Gambians say perpetrators of crimes and human-rights abuses during Jammeh’s regime should be tried in court, a 5-percentage-point increase compared to 2018 (Figure 1). ▪ Six in 10 Gambians (61%) say the government should seek the extradition of Jammeh, a 10-percentage point increase compared to 2018. More than one in four citizens (28%) say they or a member of their family suffered human-rights abuses under Jammeh’s regime.
“Citizens expect the TRRC’s work to lead to a variety of outcomes, including national peace, reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing (34%); accurate records of human rights abuses of the previous regime (30%); prosecution of accused perpetrators (28%); and support for victims and their families to overcome long-held pain (16%) (Figure 3). Afrobarometer surveys Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on Africans’ experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Eight rounds of surveys have been completed in up to 39 countries since 1999. Round 8 surveys (2019/2021) cover 34 countries. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples.
The Afrobarometer team in the Gambia, led by the Centre for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass), interviewed 1,200 adult Gambians between 30 January and 23 February 2021. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. A previous Afrobarometer survey was conducted in the Gambia in 2018,” it continued.
