As the dust settles from Gambian president Yahya Jammeh’s abrupt “Prisoner pardon” on July 22nd 21st anniversary, and without any likely further explanation from the President on the rationale behind the unprecedented move, it is becoming clearer that there is more to the story than a genuine repentant leader rediscovering his faith 21 years later. The Prisoner release which includes over 200 detainees mainly people convicted of criminal offenses; murder and alleged treasonable charges looks more like an attempt to reunite and reconcile a gang of criminal enterprise who have lived and breath corruption, nepotism and abuse of office by none other than the very own system orchestrated by President himself.
Under normal circumstances it is reasonable for citizens to give benefit of doubt to a leader who comes out and all but publicly apologize and asked for forgiveness from his citizens who feel they have been oppressed and living under fear for over two decades. As human beings we are capable of forgiving and ask for forgiveness as non is infallible. However, every action taken or decision made by a leader of a nation must be subjected to scrutiny and thorough assessment in order to understand the rationale behind the decisions. The citizens can only make a reasonable conclusive assessment if the leader takes the responsibility to answer questions that are raised as a consequent of the President’s decision. This is why smart president’s around the civilized world follow up their actions with either a press conference to further clarify or engage in a tour of the country to answer questions from citizen concerns including averting possible unintended consequences of their decisions.
But in Gambia, we are not dealing with a normal political situation where a healthy dialogue exist between leaders and their subordinates. What we have in Gambia is two decades of a political circus which has left the decisions and control of an entire nation in the hands of one man. He has succeeded in creating an environment of fear where his own closest aids dare not look him in the eye and tell the truth or question the motives of his decision even where as it is evidence that the consequences negatively impacts the President himself, his image and the nation. There is only one person responsible for creating this environment – that is the President whose responsibility lies beyond appointing people to positions and expect them to deliver. The leader has the moral responsibility to assess the kind of environment he creates and not allow himself to be boxed in a bubble where no aide tells him anything he wouldn’t want to hear. The President is not a victim of such circumstances as insinuated in some quarters but the sole creator of that unhealthy political environment.
So let’s use simple common sense to assess the so called “pardon” on the prisoners. The first questions we must asked which have already been raised by many citizens are the circumstances leading to the decision; the people mostly affected and what are the likely consequences among other things of such a decision both short and long term. Many pundits have speculated that economic, political and domestic pressure may have led the president to take such an action. The President said he was making the decision base on his reading of the Quran and the bible. But let’s face it, how long has the President been reading the Quran and the bible in the last 21 years? Did he not come cross the verses that he quoted as evidence in his “forgiveness”? Did he just woke up one morning and discover those verses? The answer is an emphatic NO! He has read the same scripts over and over again but never had the moral fortitude to go that direction. So what has change?
On the economic argument it is evidence that the President would never publicly or even privately admit that his administration has been struggling to keep the nation’s economy flowing. He recently received an emergency financial bail out from the IMF worth over $10.8 Million dollars so the country can meet it’s debt servicing obligations. The IMF further warns that the Gambian economy faces difficult challenges in meeting its economic obligations. There is also further evidence that the European Union has held $37 plus million dollars worth of development funds to Gambia due to its dismal Human Rights records and failure to address the 17 point concerns the EU put forward for Gambia. There is no question with President Jammeh severing diplomatic ties with important development partners such as the Commonwealth, Taiwan and other development partners, President Jammeh is feeling the economic pressure whether he admits it or not. The evidence are there for all to see and it is a matter of time before the financial dents will surface.
On another front it is evidence that the Gambian President no longer have a peace of mind anywhere in the world outside of Banjul. Even in Gambia and within his own most secure corridors information has been leaking left and right and the President feels insecure and angry at not only his aides but the International community. The evidence of December 30th 2014 where dissidents came steps from toppling his regime, he was visibly shaken and terrified of what else is in the pipeline against his regime. Prior to December 30th failed alleged coup Yahya Jammeh used to dismiss Gambian dissidents as “unpatriotic” citizens. He no longer refers to diaspora dissidents as useless citizens as they are determined to take the fight to his door steps. So putting all these points together it is reasonable for one to conclude that all these pressures have contributed to Jammeh’s abrupt pardon of prisoners and his realization that the rope is tightening around his neck.
A close examination of the demographic of the prisoners released, it is evidence that if President Jammeh in fact was interested in forgiveness and political reconciliation, the list would have been more inclusive than what currently is. How could any fair minded citizen regard the release of 26 treason convicts, 14 murder convicts, 8 hard drug convicts, 98 drug possession convicts, 72 drug trafficking convicts, and 10 robbery convicts as reconciliation. Who is reconciling with who? How do we justify releasing murder convicts, criminal drug traffickers including cocaine, heroine and other hard drugs into the society without much accountability and continue to detain other citizens who may not have committed any crimes whatsoever. How do Yahya Jammeh release 26 well trained military personnel who may not have committed any of the offenses they were charge with and call that a reconciliation. In fact is President Jammeh now realizing that these convicts were wrongly accused, convicted and sentence and now he regrets subjecting them into those hard treatments. What about the people who perished in Jail or some of whom were tortured to death in Mile II and in the hands of the President and his people? Finally, how about all the public officials who served President Jammeh and were in one way or another convicted of corruption, abuse of office and other crimes. Has Jammeh ran out of citizens to recycle into his temporary roles and therefore he is releasing these citizens to reinstate them right back into his administration. Where is the justice to leave others behind bars and release criminals into society?
On a final note, as the saying goes history repeats itself.. Everything in life has a turning point. Everything that Yahya Jammeh stated when he overthrew the PPP regime has turnout to be worst under his watch. Does anyone remember the turning point when former President Jawara lost control of his power and brought in corrupt Nigerian military to protect him from possible internal revolt? Didn’t that become the curse and the demise of the PPP regime? We are with the strong opinion that every action has unintended consequences. That President Jammeh has no clue what he is doing or what he has done in this prisoner release.
A genuine reconciliation would have first and foremost include political opponents, kidnapped citizens who disappeared without trace and a full and complete accountability and transparency of the process that led to the release of the prisoners. Anything less must continue to meet resistance from Gambian dissidents and political opponents. The EU, the ECOWAS and other international partners must continue to demand further release of all political prisoners before a single dime is released to the Gambia government. Only pressure and continuous resistance from citizens will yield the desired political change in Gambia. No amount of political manipulation should distract citizens from continuing the pressure on Yahya Jammeh and his regime. Gambians await a full accountability of all our citizens including those who disappeared without trace.
Commentary: By Demba Baldeh