A commission looking into abuses of former Gambia President Yahya Jammeh begun its proceedings on Monday.
This as the country’s citizens continue to demand for justice for atrocities committed during the former ruler’s 22 years in office.
Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission’s hearings began with witnesses giving evidence on the circumstances that led to the overthrow of constitutional order in July 1994 by soldiers led by Jammeh, who went on to rule the nation for more than 22 years.
Jammeh’s rule was characterized by allegations of torture and disappearances that finally led to his ouster.
The commission will sit for two years and probe events leading up to the coup that brought Jammeh to power and the failures of individuals and institutions that allowed for this two-decade rule.
“The country needs this commission to avoid a repeat of the past; and that no government can impose a dictatorship on Gambia again,” commission Chairman Lamin Sise said Monday
Authorities have vowed to right the wrongs of the past and ensure that human rights and the rule of law are central in the country’s democratic shift.
