Foreign

Gambian Parliament to Revisit Bill on FGM Ban

By Web News 404

The Gambian parliament will on Monday discuss whether to consider or throw out a bill that is seeking to reverse the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).

If the legislators agree to consider it, the bill will be taken through a committee for further scrutiny.

The bill was introduced to parliament earlier this month by independent lawmaker Almammeh Gibba, who said it sought to “uphold religious purity and safeguard cultural norms and values”.

Though FGM was criminalised in The Gambia in 2015, some seek to overturn the ban claiming that it violates religious freedom and is against the country’s cultural practices.

But local and international human rights groups are urging lawmakers not to consider the bill, saying decriminalising FGM would endanger girls and women.

Over 73% of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone some form of FGM in The Gambia, which ranks among the top 10 African countries where FGM is prevalent, according to the UN.

The FGM rate drops to 46% among girls aged 14 and younger, according to Unicef.

Only two cases have been prosecuted and one conviction secured since The Gambia’s FGM ban in 2015, human rights group Amnesty International says.

BBC / Titilayo Kupoliyi

Foreign

Gambian Ex-Minister Goes on Trial in Switzerland for Murder

By Web News 444

A Gambian Former Interior Minister has gone on trial in Switzerland, charged with crimes against humanity.

Ousman Sonko fled there in 2016, shortly before Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, accused of heading a repressive regime, lost power.

Mr Sonko, 54, was arrested after non-governmental organisations presented evidence of his alleged involvement in killings, rape and torture.

But his lawyer said that he was not responsible for what happened.

Report says, the Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency, which was “never… under [his] authority” was behind the alleged crimes.

Switzerland is trying the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute people on their territory, even though the events may have taken place elsewhere.

Mr Sonko is the highest-ranking government official ever to be prosecuted under this principle in Europe.

Human rights groups believe the trial, taking place in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona, could be a warning to repressive governments everywhere that the arm of the law can be very long indeed.

Switzerland’s charge sheet against Mr Sonko is extensive.

It includes the participation in, or ordering of, killings, torture and rape – all targeting political opponents. These could constitute crimes against humanity under Swiss law.

Swiss investigators traveled to The Gambia and interviewed dozens of alleged victims and witnesses – nine will be in court to testify.

From 1996 until 2016, The Gambia was ruled by President Yahya Jammeh, whose time in office, according to Human Rights Watch, was characterised by “widespread abuses, including forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings”.

Mr Sonko was Mr Jammeh’s right-hand man, his role as interior minister putting him in charge of the security services, including, allegedly, a sinister paramilitary group known as “the Junglers”.

But in 2016, shortly before Mr Jammeh himself lost power, Mr Sonko fled to Switzerland, where he claimed asylum.

Within months he was arrested, after an NGO, Trial International, gave the Swiss authorities details of abuses he was allegedly involved in.

After six trips to The Gambia and 40 interviews with complainants, the Swiss attorney general drew up the charge sheet.

This is only the second time that Switzerland has ever tried someone under universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity.

Later this year, a court in the US state of Colorado will begin the trial of an alleged former member of the same group.

Although The Gambia has created its own transitional justice process to address abuses committed under Mr Jammeh’s rule, human rights groups say its work has so far been very slow.

Even in the Swiss trial against Mr Sonko, one of the plaintiffs who had been scheduled to testify died before the case came to court.

But for those who do testify, “being invited before a court of law, to tell their stories, is a way for them to heal. And if the federal court does reach a guilty verdict, it will be an enormous relief for them. They will get the answers they have been waiting for many years,” Trial International’s Benoit Meystre said.

The court case is expected to last a month with a verdict coming in March.

BBC/Taiwo Akinola

Sport

U-20: Gambia Beat South Sudan 5-0, Tunisia also Wins

By Web News 665

By Oluwakayode Banjo

Gambia has thrashed South Sudan in the last quarter final game of the ongoing Under 20 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, in Egypt.

Gambia scored 5 goals without reply against their opponents to advance to the semi finals of the tournament.

Similarly, Tunisia booked their place in the semi finals after beating Congo 5 – 4 on penalties.

The semi final stage will be played on Monday with Senegal battling Tunisia and Nigeria taking on Gambia.

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Foreign

Gambia Says Navy Officer behind Failed Coup Bid

By Web News 461

A navy officer has been named by The Gambia’s government as the alleged ringleader of a failed coup plot.

Lance Corporal Sanna Fadera had been detained, along with four other officers, in an operation underway since Tuesday, a statement said.

The main opposition party and the West African regional bloc condemned the attempted coup.

A retired military officer said he doubted the plot was serious, as all the officers were junior.

The government statement said that loyalist troops were still searching for two alleged accomplices, following the arrest of officers from the navy, military police, state guards and first infantry battalions.

The Gambia is a largely stable country in West Africa which is popular with holidaymakers because of its beaches and wildlife.

Life has continued as normal in the capital, Banjul, since the government said on Wednesday that it had foiled a coup plot the previous day.

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) condemned the attempted coup, saying the regional body “stands firmly” by President Adama Barrow’s government.

Meanwhile, the campaign manager of the main opposition party, Momodou Sabally, has been detained by police over a widely circulated TikTok video which suggests that Mr Barrow would be unseated before next year’s local government elections.

The police statement did not link Mr Sabally, who was a presidential affairs minister in former leader Yahya Jammeh’s regime, to the alleged coup plot.

Mr Sabally’s United Democratic Party (UDP) said it condemned, “without any reservations”, the attempted coup.

It also demanded Mr Sabally’s immediate release, saying the “short edited” video did not accurately reflect his views.

“There is no indication that Mr Sabally in any way stated or suggested that there will be a change of government through any unlawful or illegal means,” it added in a statement.

Mr Barrow defeated Mr Jammeh, whose 22-year rule was marked by state repression and brutality, in December 2016, and won a second term last year.

Shocked by the turn of events, Mr Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea, though he remains an influential figure in The Gambia, one of Africa’s smallest countries.

Many senior officers left the army after Mr Barrow took office.

He has been distrustful of the military, with troops from neighbouring Senegal in charge of his personal security, while the main international airport and sea port are guarded by troops from Nigeria and Ghana respectively.

This has made him unpopular with many Gambians, who feel that he has undermined the country’s sovereignty by relying on foreign forces.

Mr Barrow also drew criticism after he broke away from the UDP, which propelled him to power in 2016, and formed the National People’s Party (NPP) to contest last year’s election.

His popularity plummeted further when he announced that he had formed an alliance with Mr Jammeh’s old party, in what was seen as an attempt to boost his chances of securing a second term.

On the other hand, some of Mr Jammeh’s allies, like Mr Sabally, crossed over to the UDP.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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