Ousainou Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party, has said that former president Yahya Jammeh should be tried for crimes against humanity. 

Mr Darboe made the statement at a remembrance ceremony for Solo Sandeng, a politician and activist, who died in the custody of the state after staging an electoral reform protest in 2016.

He said the killing of Ebrima Solo Sandeng and others during the Jammeh dictatorship were done on the orders of former president Yahya Jammeh. 

“I have always believed and I still believe that what was done was at the behest of [former] President Jammeh. 

“He [Jammeh] knew these things after all even if the act was going on if he didn’t know [but] subsequently he knew. There were newspapers reports [and] he knew these people. 

“So, he is complicit in this and I think certainly he is [a] prime [suspect] He should be accused number one in any of these trials.” 

However, Mr Darboe who also spoke on the purported return of Jammeh.

“I don’t think that’s impossible if there is will on the part of the authorities it can be done.  After all I present the fact that we do not have an extradition treaty with Equatorial Guinea for him [Yahya Jammeh] to be brought to The Gambia to be tried for offences against our laws.

“But obviously what had taken place to me appears to be crimes against humanity. And if it is crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court certainly shall have jurisdiction and I want to say this that it is time that some representation is made to the ICC prosecutors so that they can open up a formal investigation into the alleged atrocities under the watch of [former] President Yahya Jammeh including rape,” he continued.

Mr Darboe added that if he was still the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he would ensure that The Gambia lobbied the AU to pressure Equatorial Guinea to handover former president Yahya Jammeh.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba