By Mabinty M. Kamara
The High Court in Gambia’s capital Banjul has sentenced to death by hanging Yankuba Touray, a former minister of Agriculture under the ex-President Yahya Jammeh’s regime. Touray is a former member of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) that ruled Gambia for two years after they overthrew the then government of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara in 1994.
Touray was alleged to have committed human right violations, torture and killings of both civilians and soldiers along with other members of the AFPRC. However, he was convicted for the murder of Ousman Koro Ceasay who was one of few non-military technocrats in the then AFPRC government. His murder according to reports was connected to his refusal to comply with the junta leadership over its financial policies. His remains were recovered in his burnt down official vehicle.
The judge in his ruling on Wednesday 14th July 2021 said that Touray made sure to prevent possible investigation into the incident by burning the victim's body "beyond recognition".
The AFPRC junta led the country with iron fist, until 1996 when they conducted elections, which Jammeh won. He then ruled the country for the next 20 years, until 2016 when he lost the elections to Adama Barrow the current president of the Gambia.
Jammeh’s rule was characterized by alleged rights violations, including extrajudicial killings. The Barrow administration therefore established a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC)
to investigate the Jammeh government upon assuming power. The investigations by the commission took over two years (871 days) since its commencement in January 2019 ,to complete , and heard from 392 witnesses. The commission is expected to submit its report to the government this July.
Touray was one of former officials of the regime invited by the commission but his refusal to testify led to his arrest and subsequent indictment for one of the most heinous crimes committed under the junta regime.
Touray initially challenged his indictment on the basis that he had a constitutional immunity from prosecution. But in a ruling in February 2021, the Gambian Supreme Court dismissed that argument, paving the way for the trial to go on. He is the first member of the former Jammeh regime to face trial in the country in connection to the atrocities committed during their term in office.
There is a 2018 moratorium on the death penalty in Gambia, although it is still in the law books.
Copyright © Politico Online (16/07/21)
