By: Nyima Sillah
Former information minister Demba Ali Jawo has opined that former President Yahya Jammeh’s trial could commence with the money realized from the sale of his assets.
“While U.S funding for such a project is crucial, I am confident that if the government is quite serious about bringing Jammeh to justice, they can find the resources to do so. We are all aware that more than a billion dalasi was realized from the sale of his assets and that amount could have been used to commence the process,” Jawo told The Voice in a recent interview.
He pointed out that the proposed hybrid tribunal is also a preferred regional mechanism to bring Jammeh to justice,“but there are other possibilities, including seeking his extradition from Equatorial Guinea to face trial in our local courts.”
Mr. Jawo, who also briefly served as the chairman of the Victim Centre for Human Rights Violations, further stated that the cooperation of Equatorial Guinea in bringing Jammeh to justice is quite essential though there is a possibility of putting him [Jammeh] on trial in absentia.
“It may take a long time, but I am confident that Jammeh would eventually face trial either here in The Gambia or elsewhere in the sub-region. Remember, it took more than 20 years before the former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre was brought before a tribunal in Senegal, where he was living in exile. It is, therefore, a possibility that another leader may take over in Equatorial Guinea who would be either ready to hand him over or allow him to be tried there as Senegal did with Habre,” he emphasized.
