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Gambia News: ECOWAS Boss to Start Looking Into Gambia Killings
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas has vowed to get to the bottom of the murder of 50 African immigrants including Ghanaians in The Gambia, according to a report by the Myjoyonline.com, a Ghanaian publication.
Dr Chambas was reported to have told Joy News that he will personally visit the country and demand answers from President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia on the killings.
50 immigrants including 44 Ghanaians were killed in The Gambia under unexplained circumstances two year ago.
Dr. Chambas was quoted by the publication as saying that “lack of information and transparency in the case is breeding suspicion and leading to agitation from some Ghanaians against Gambian President Jammeh.”
Civil society groups in Ghana and the main opposition National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) John Mahama have openly criticized both the government of Ghana and The Gambia for their failure to investigate the case.
Dr. Chambas was reported to have told Joy News the agitation should send signals to the Gambian authorities that Ghanaians want to know what happened to their compatriots.
He was quoted as saying that: “I have undertaken to visit The Gambia to try and understand this problem. But before I do that I will have to listen to the Ghanaian side. To get to the bottom of this matter we have to be very transparent on this issue so that all sides will truly know and appreciate what exactly happened and then we put the blame where it is due.”
The ECOWAS Commission boss said for the relationship between Ghana and The Gambia to remain cordial there is the need for the Gambian authorities to act promptly.
“I have to admit that I was totally caught on the blind side by this issue. I had discussions with the vice president of Gambia who was here with the foreign minister and told the authorities this is a situation we should try and resolve as soon as possible,” he was quoted saying.
Meanwhile eight of the 50 or so African nationals allegedly killed by the Gambian authorities two years ago have been positively identified, according to Joy News.
Investigations into the killings have dragged leading to widespread criticism of both the Ghanaian and Gambian authorities.
The Director of the Legal Bureau of the Ministry, Mr Odoi Anim told the newspaper that a team of investigators will visit the Gambia next month to continue to ask President Jammeh to assist. It will be the second such visit by Ghanaian officials since the incident.
Mr. Anim revealed that last April the first investigative team from Ghana identified the place of the murders and the boat on which the victims were traveling before their abduction and subsequent killing.
He told Joy News the autopsy result of the eight confirmed dead show that they died from shock.
“We saw where the gentlemen have been murdered. Yes 44 plus people died…we have identified positively eight Ghanaians. Their family members have been notified…the preliminary investigations show they died of shock and trauma, ” Mr. Anim told reporters
Mr. Anim, however said that “it is too early to confirm or deny figures put out by the media suggesting that some 44 Ghanaians died in the killings.” He blamed the Gambian authorities for refusing to cooperate and stalling the investigation.
He pointed out: “President Jammeh denied flat that no Ghanaian had been murdered in his territory and said it was all the work of his political enemies. So we agreed on a date to meet and as the date drew near we drew the attention of the Gambians and informed them of our arrival in Banjul…but as the date approached they started introducing elements that are at variance with what had been previously agreed on.”
The team investigating the killings is expected to visit the Gambia soon to demand President Jammeh’s involvement. Joy news sources at the castle say a strongly-worded letter has been sent to President Jammeh demanding his country’s cooperation failing which relations between the two countries could be strained.
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