By: Nyima Sillah
Imam Baba Leigh, a Commissioner at National Human Right Commission has urged the government to try without wasting much time to compensate the victims.
“What I am urging the government is to try quickly and get compensation and compensate the victims and at least try to talk to them. He should try to calm down the tension because the tension needs to be calmed down and Gambians being victims or none, generally, we are all victims directly or indirectly because there is no family here in the Gambia who is not affected during the time of this 22-year,” of the former regime of President Yahya Jammeh, he said.
He declared that “what we need today is to come back to our senses and to see each other as Gambians, see each other as religious people and try to calm down. So only the government is the institution that can help and fast track that process. I am telling you if victims have been compensated accordingly the tension will reduce.”
When asked whether former President Yahya Jammeh should be prosecuted, he replied: “I see no reason why he (Yahya Jammeh) should not be prosecuted simply because it should be a lesson to others.”
However, he said “if I am to use my victim card, I will use it to unify Gambia I will use it to preach peace, forgiveness and get back The Gambia to order. If I am to use my victim card, I will ask people to be forgiven because you see anger is a heavy load nobody can carry it so long you cannot forget but you can forgive and people like the Speaker of the House of Parliament, I have never seen him call to the TRRC.
“Maybe he has his own political view that is his own right and the president has the right to choose who he wants according to the constitution so I will leave those issues with my politicians to fight it or to support it.”