Gambia: TRRC Update - the Journey So Far

analysis

The TRRC ended its fourth three-week session of hearings on Thursday, April 25, 2019. During this session, 16 witnesses testified before the Commission, bringing the total number of witnesses to testify since January 7, 2019 to 57. A significant number of these witnesses are former or current members of the Gambian security services. Seven of the hearings were held with Diaspora Gambians via video conferencing. One hearing was held in camera and another was that of a protected witness. At least eight women have so far voluntarily testified before the Commission, most of them widows of the November 11, 1994 incident. The hearings during this fourth session yielded valuable evidence on circumstances surrounding the July 22, 1994 coup, the November 11 and Koro Ceesay incidents, and a 1996 incident at Denton Bridge involving supporters of the UDP. The Commission will hear more testimonies on these issues when sittings resume on June 10. It is also anticipated that the Commission will hold its first Institutional hearing on the media during the fifth session which ends on June 28, 2019.

The TRRC experienced a significant milestone when its team of investigators discovered and exhumed remains of seven victims of the November 11, 1994 incident at Yundum Barracks. The seven were among an estimated 14 soldiers summarily executed and buried in mass graves during the November 11 incident. Once the suspected grave sites were pointed out by witnesses and before the search for the remains started, members of all 14 families of the November 11 victims were invited several times to our offices for conversations, sensitization and counselling on the process, expectations and related issues. Victims' families were also requested to provide any ante-mortem data they remembered to help in the subsequent identification of discovered remains. Information on things like body marks, dental features and clothing the victims wore were collected by our teams. All 14 families were also invited to the viewing of the exhumed remains at Yundum Barracks. On all occasions, the TRRC reimbursed the cost of travel to all family members attending these sessions. We will continue engaging these and other families as together we try to get justice, closure and healing for our loved ones and our country. As at the time of this update, our team of investigators continue their search for November 11 remains at Yundum Barracks.

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