The Spotlight: Amadou Sanneh
By Yero Jallow
Gainako’s spotlight for this week is none other than Amadou Sanneh, jailed UDP Treasurer, currently languishing at the notorious Mile 2 Prison, at the political whims and caprices of the Jammeh tyranny.
Sanneh, an Accountant by profession, is both a Citizen and a progressive Gambian, whose rights and fair treatment must be advocated for.
For refresher, Sanneh was handed the heavy imprisonment of 5 years around December 18th 2013, and since then, appeals on his unfavorable imprisonment to the Appeals Courts in Banjul proved unsuccessful. He was accused of writing an attestation letter for asylum seekers outside the Gambia.
Amadou was severely tortured by his captors and humiliated in open GRTS parade as a confessor to his alleged crime, his case presented as a bad citizen, who was out to tarnish the image of the Gambia and the tyrannical regime of Yaya Jammeh, a common tactic with tyranny in its effort to control and oppress citizens. To the contrary, Sanneh is a decent Citizen, a father figure, whose sacrifices for his nation motivated him to fight for the liberation of his country by participating in politics.
It must be noted that Sanneh is a Citizen first before being an affiliate of any other association or party. It is really wrong and a travesty of justice for the Jammeh administration and its mercenary Judges to scapegoat Sanneh, similar to Femi Peter’s ordeal, a seeming witch-hunt against certain individuals because of their affiliation. What even makes the suspicion obvious is the fact that, Jammeh recently announced pardon for alleged convicts at the Mile 2, some of whom were accused of treason, allegedly trying to forcefully topple the regime, but Sanneh was excluded in this pardon package. Is it harder to pardon someone who committed a crime of attestation than someone who committed a crime of treason? The answer is not far-fetched, as therein the Jammeh regime exposes its evil instinct, preferential treatment, and grudges it harbors against critics of the tyrannical regime.
The UDP must move beyond only providing legal support for Sanneh. Sanneh must be provided with utmost moral support. The UDP can join hands with Citizens and concerned Human rights groups to demand his immediate and unconditional release from the Mile 2 Prison. At the helm of the upcoming Presidential elections, the UDP should consider presenting Amadou Sanneh as its Presidential Candidate.
The job of fighting for Sanneh and the many victims of Jammeh’s tyranny must not be wholly left to the political parties and groups they affiliated with; it is national call of duty for all, to condemn the regime’s injustices and call for a total respect of existence and human rights. On that note Citizens and Human Rights groups, please join me all, in demanding an immediate and unconditional release of Amadou Sanneh.
Picture Courtesy: The Point, Banjul.