The chairman of The Gambia Centre for Victims of Human Rights Violations is urging witnesses to the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission to be truthful in their testimonies, reports The Standard newspaper.

Sheriff Kijera says the Victims Centre wants the witnesses to give true accounts of events during their testimonies to help the commission ascertain the truth about alleged human rights abuses during former President Jammeh’s 22-year reign.

“During our engagements with the victims, we have emphasised to them that the testimonies they give against anybody should be credible and factual, because all what they say would be subjected to investigation and scrutiny. We made it clear to them that the TRRC was not a platform to settle score. It is a commission of facts and truth finding.”  

The recent testimonies of two witnesses (O.J and Brigadier Mamat Cham) were challenged by Halifa Sallah, the leader of PDOIS party. He accused the duo of “fabricating and distorting” their evidences to the TRRC.

However, Kijera observed that people should be given the opportunity to give their own account of events if they were named in the testimonies.

“It is natural that one has to expect this kind of rebuttals coming from all quarters, because you would expect when someone makes a statement against somebody that person will have to be defensive. This is natural and we are not in a position to form a judgement on accounts of what people have said. It is down to the TRRC to corroborate facts as mandated.

“What we are expecting the commission to do is to make recommendations. The question is: what will happen after the mandate of the TRRC? We have lots of truth commissions around the world and great recommendations were made, but were never implemented.”  

He said the main problem the Victims Centre was faced with was managing expectations adding that the government should sensitise the victims on the various concepts of reparations.

“We don’t know what the government has in place in terms of a successor institution for the implementation of those recommendations which are key to providing closure and remedies for victims. We will ultimately like to see reconciliation, but the most important thing is to provide reparation to victims and prosecute those who committed the most heinous crimes.

Kijera pointed out that the witness protection “should not be limited to victims but also perpetrators. We cannot afford to encourage a mob justice in this country as that will create instability.”