Ongoing investigations into alleged killings and disappearances under former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh have hit a snag, according to a United Nations group.
The UN’s Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has said that the investigations lack the needed resources both human and non-human.
A report from the group noted that “Investigation in a number of cases [of enforced disappearances] is being delayed either due to difficulties in the exhumation and/or identification of the bodies or due to the fact that perpetrators are at large, including abroad (notably in Guinea Bissau).”
Members of the working group had travelled to the West African nation between June 12 and 19, meeting government officials, civil society groups and security officials among others.
Discussions centred on cases of disappearances that happened during the rule of Mr. Jammeh between 1994 and 2016. The UN group’s eight-page report said 35 cases of reported enforced disappearances are under investigations
The team has been able to complete probe into just one case which is the killing of Solo Sandeng of the United Democratic Party alleged to have been tortured to death in custody of the then National Intelligence Agency, now renamed State Intelligence Services.
The UN group said there are several cases requiring investigations but “However, due to lack of adequate technical means and resources as well as the geographical characteristics of the land, the exact places of burials have not been identified yet,” the group added.
Mr. Yahya Jammeh who is currently in exile at Equatorial Guinea rule The Gambia for decades and was defeated in general elections in 2016 by current president Adama Barrow. He initially refused to exit power despite the defeat but was forced out by the efforts of the regional bloc ECOWAS.
Source: Africafeeds.com
