Latest news with #Jammeh
eNCA
24-07-2025
- eNCA
Stigma haunts Gambians accused in state witch purge: study
BANJUL - The years have passed but the stigma remains for Gambians accused of being witches, who were detained more than a decade ago under the abusive dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh, research revealed. Hundreds of people, many of them elderly women, were targeted under the eccentric west African dictator's 2008-2009 purge on witchcraft. The victims were taken to his compound and other secret locations where they were subjected to beatings, rape and forced to drink hallucinogenic concoctions. The episode created lasting psychological and social scars that endure not just for the victims but also their families and communities, according to a new study in the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. The research, funded by the United Nations Development Programme, involved interviews and surveys in the five communities most affected by Jammeh's witchcraft purges, located in western Gambia. Under the study, led by researcher Mick Finlay of the UK's Anglia Ruskin University and conducted in collaboration with the University of The Gambia and Nottingham Trent University, a total of 153 people were interviewed and 128 surveyed. Although many of the participants believed the witch hunts were organised to frighten people not to speak out against Jammeh (89 percent) or to create divisions (87 percent), a full quarter also believed the threat from witches was real, according to the research. To keep citizens in a permanent state of fear during his 22-year rule , Jammeh wielded a potent mix of brute force, mysticism and pervasive superstition -- including beliefs that Jammeh had supernatural powers. Belief in witchcraft has strong roots in The Gambia, particularly rural areas, where witches are said to cause illness, infertility, financial misfortune and death, and are additionally believed to eat children. The fact that the witchcraft accusations were state-orchestrated makes the situation unique, Finley told AFP. Normally, witchcraft accusations are "more gossip and rumour", he said in an interview. Against the state-backed nature of these witch hunts, victims felt the issue should be dealt with at the community or even government level. "The victims often said, you know, we want the government to come out and tell everybody that we are not witches," Finlay told AFP. There are "really simple things in terms of mending people's reputations that need to happen after dictatorships and war", Finlay added. A Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate human rights abuses carried out under Jammeh's rule between 1994 and 2017 recommended the establishment of a law making witchcraft accusations illegal. - People 'avoid us' - Approximately 41 deaths occurred during the witch hunts, with victims also suffering long-term health issues from being forced to drink toxic liquids, beatings and other abuse, according to the TRRC. Research for the new report, which was conducted in 2022, revealed that victims were the targets of shaming, mocking and gossip and often felt unable to attend traditional cultural events. "People tend to avoid us", one victim told the researchers. "We don't go their funerals or their naming ceremonies." Self-isolation was also reported, as was stigmatisation of victims' families, children and larger communities. To conduct the purges, Jammeh invited Guinean and Malian witch hunters into The Gambia, while his Green Boys and Girls vigilante group and the armed forces also helped carry out the roundups, according to the report. While the exact motivation behind the episode is unclear, Jammeh believed that witches had killed his aunt. Victims were taken to a compound in the southern village of Kanilai where Jammeh lived. There, they were generally held for several days while being forced to drink noxious liquid and sometimes bathe in an herbal concoction. Although a wide variety of community members were invited to participate in the survey, researchers said those comfortable with talking about stigmatisation could be over-represented, while those with a fear of witches could be under-represented. After losing an election to current President Adama Barrow in 2016, Jammeh fled The Gambia the following January for Equatorial Guinea.
France 24
23-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Stigma haunts Gambians accused in state witch purge: study
Hundreds of people, many of them elderly women, were targeted under the eccentric west African dictator's 2008-2009 purge on witchcraft. The victims were taken to his compound and other secret locations where they were subjected to beatings, rape and forced to drink hallucinogenic concoctions. The episode created lasting psychological and social scars that endure not just for the victims but also their families and communities, according to a new study in the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. The research, funded by the United Nations Development Programme, involved interviews and surveys in the five communities most affected by Jammeh's witchcraft purges, located in western Gambia. Under the study, led by researcher Mick Finlay of the UK's Anglia Ruskin University and conducted in collaboration with the University of The Gambia and Nottingham Trent University, a total of 153 people were interviewed and 128 surveyed. Although many of the participants believed the witch hunts were organised to frighten people not to speak out against Jammeh (89 percent) or to create divisions (87 percent), a full quarter also believed the threat from witches was real, according to the research. To keep citizens in a permanent state of fear during his 22-year rule , Jammeh wielded a potent mix of brute force, mysticism and pervasive superstition -- including beliefs that Jammeh had supernatural powers. Belief in witchcraft has strong roots in The Gambia, particularly rural areas, where witches are said to cause illness, infertility, financial misfortune and death, and are additionally believed to eat children. The fact that the witchcraft accusations were state-orchestrated makes the situation unique, Finley told AFP. Normally, witchcraft accusations are "more gossip and rumour", he said in an interview. Against the state-backed nature of these witch hunts, victims felt the issue should be dealt with at the community or even government level. "The victims often said, you know, we want the government to come out and tell everybody that we are not witches," Finlay told AFP. There are "really simple things in terms of mending people's reputations that need to happen after dictatorships and war", Finlay added. A Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate human rights abuses carried out under Jammeh's rule between 1994 and 2017 recommended the establishment of a law making witchcraft accusations illegal. People 'avoid us' Approximately 41 deaths occurred during the witch hunts, with victims also suffering long-term health issues from being forced to drink toxic liquids, beatings and other abuse, according to the TRRC. Research for the new report, which was conducted in 2022, revealed that victims were the targets of shaming, mocking and gossip and often felt unable to attend traditional cultural events. "People tend to avoid us", one victim told the researchers. "We don't go their funerals or their naming ceremonies." Self-isolation was also reported, as was stigmatisation of victims' families, children and larger communities. To conduct the purges, Jammeh invited Guinean and Malian witch hunters into The Gambia, while his Green Boys and Girls vigilante group and the armed forces also helped carry out the roundups, according to the report. While the exact motivation behind the episode is unclear, Jammeh believed that witches had killed his aunt. Victims were taken to a compound in the southern village of Kanilai where Jammeh lived. There, they were generally held for several days while being forced to drink noxious liquid and sometimes bathe in an herbal concoction. Although a wide variety of community members were invited to participate in the survey, researchers said those comfortable with talking about stigmatisation could be over-represented, while those with a fear of witches could be under-represented. After losing an election to current President Adama Barrow in 2016, Jammeh fled The Gambia the following January for Equatorial Guinea.
Qatar Tribune
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Gambia probes sale of ex-leader's luxury cars, cows and boats
The Gambian government has announced an investigation into the sale of assets seized from former President Yahya Jammeh, following widespread public concern. Some of the assets, including livestock and luxury vehicles, were sold off while a panel was still investigating the wealth Jammeh amassed during his 22-year rule. A newspaper investigation exposed alleged irregularities and an apparent lack of transparency in the sale of the assets, sparking protests organised by young people. In a televised address on Wednesday night, President Adama Barrow pledged 'full transparency' in the probe, saying assets recovered 'belong to the people'. Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, is accused of orchestrating the huge theft of government funds, as well as extensive human rights abuses, including killing and jailing his critics. The former leader, who in 2017 fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea after losing elections, has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing. In 2017, President Barrow set up a commission to investigate alleged corruption and financial misconduct by Jammeh during his two-decade-long rule. The panel, popularly known as the Janneh commission, concluded its findings in 2019 and recommended the forfeiture of assets linked to Jammeh and his associates. The investigation found that Jammeh had allegedly stolen at least $360m and spent lavishly on expensive vehicles, aircraft and real estate. (Agencies)
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gambia probes sale of ex-leader's luxury cars, cows and boats
The Gambian government has announced an investigation into the sale of assets seized from former President Yahya Jammeh, following widespread public concern. Some of the assets, including livestock and luxury vehicles, were sold off while a panel was still investigating the wealth Jammeh amassed during his 22-year rule. A newspaper investigation exposed alleged irregularities and an apparent lack of transparency in the sale of the assets, sparking protests organised by young people. In a televised address on Wednesday night, President Adama Barrow pledged "full transparency" in the probe, saying assets recovered "belong to the people". Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, is accused of orchestrating the huge theft of government funds, as well as extensive human rights abuses, including killing and jailing his critics. The former leader, who in 2017 fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea after losing elections, has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing. How ex-Gambia President Yahya Jammeh's US mansion was seized The witch hunts which traumatised The Gambia In 2017, President Barrow set up a commission to investigate alleged corruption and financial misconduct by Jammeh during his two-decade-long rule. The panel, popularly known as the Janneh commission, concluded its findings in 2019 and recommended the forfeiture of assets linked to Jammeh and his associates. The investigation found that Jammeh had allegedly stolen at least $360m (£270m) and spent lavishly on expensive vehicles, aircraft and real estate. He is yet comment on the accusations but his supporters in Gambia have dismissed the findings against him as a political witchhunt. Jammeh's livestock - including cows, sheep and goats, - farm tractors, vehicles, and other valuables were among the assets earmarked for seizure by the state. In 2019, President Barrow authorised a ministerial taskforce to oversee the reclaiming of the assets, with regular updates to the cabinet. But an investigative report published by the local Republic newspaper earlier this month accused senior government officials of selling the assets to themselves, friends and family at below market value. The report went viral on social media, triggering protests in the capital, Banjul, where dozens of people, including journalists were arrested but later released. Following the public pressure, the government published a detailed list of the assets already sold, which included some of Jammeh's luxury cars, livestock, boats, construction equipment, household goods, parcels of land and heavy farm machinery. The long list showed the buyers, prices and sale dates. However, some of Jammeh's luxury cars like his customised Rolls Royce and Bentley were not in the list. It is not clear if the vehicles were sold or shipped out to him as the government had allowed him to take some items to Equatorial Guinea. The list sparked further outrage over how many valuable items had seemingly been sold at suspiciously low prices. No explanation was given by the government about the prices but the justice ministry in a statement said the sale had gone through a "legally grounded process". "At all times, the government acted within the confines of the law and in the public interest," the ministry said in a statement. In his address on Wednesday, Barrow said he had convened a cabinet meeting the previous day to discuss details of the sales, some of which he was learning about "for the first time". He said the country's parliament and the National Audit Office were both conducting parallel inquiries into the matter. "Their findings will be made public, and my government will enforce their recommendations to address the shortcomings discovered and hold accountable any individual or entity found culpable," the president said. He urged Gambians to remain calm, warning that his government "will not tolerate negligence, or any wrongdoing linked to safeguarding our nation's resources". But activists and opposition parties have dismissed the president's assurance, saying parliament cannot be trusted with the investigation. Yayah Sanyang, an opposition MP, has called for an independent probe, saying parliament was "full of ruling party loyalists". The Edward Francis Small Center for Rights and Justice, a rights group, has demanded that the president take responsibility and freeze the sale of all seized assets. In 2022, the US seized a luxurious mansion in Maryland, which was said to have been purchased by Jammeh through proceeds of corruption. In its investigation, the US Justice Department said Jammeh had acquired at least 281 properties during his time in office and operated more than 100 private bank accounts. 'I was raped by ex-President Jammeh' Gambia's Jammeh pact bombshell: Treachery or reconciliation? BBC reporter: How I was tortured in The Gambia Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gambia probes sale of ex-leader's luxury cars, cows and boats
The Gambian government has announced an investigation into the sale of assets seized from former President Yahya Jammeh, following widespread public concern. Some of the assets, including livestock and luxury vehicles, were sold off while a panel was still investigating the wealth Jammeh amassed during his 22-year rule. A newspaper investigation exposed alleged irregularities and an apparent lack of transparency in the sale of the assets, sparking protests organised by young people. In a televised address on Wednesday night, President Adama Barrow pledged "full transparency" in the probe, saying assets recovered "belong to the people". Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, is accused of orchestrating the huge theft of government funds, as well as extensive human rights abuses, including killing and jailing his critics. The former leader, who in 2017 fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea after losing elections, has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing. How ex-Gambia President Yahya Jammeh's US mansion was seized The witch hunts which traumatised The Gambia In 2017, President Barrow set up a commission to investigate alleged corruption and financial misconduct by Jammeh during his two-decade-long rule. The panel, popularly known as the Janneh commission, concluded its findings in 2019 and recommended the forfeiture of assets linked to Jammeh and his associates. The investigation found that Jammeh had allegedly stolen at least $360m (£270m) and spent lavishly on expensive vehicles, aircraft and real estate. He is yet comment on the accusations but his supporters in Gambia have dismissed the findings against him as a political witchhunt. Jammeh's livestock - including cows, sheep and goats, - farm tractors, vehicles, and other valuables were among the assets earmarked for seizure by the state. In 2019, President Barrow authorised a ministerial taskforce to oversee the reclaiming of the assets, with regular updates to the cabinet. But an investigative report published by the local Republic newspaper earlier this month accused senior government officials of selling the assets to themselves, friends and family at below market value. The report went viral on social media, triggering protests in the capital, Banjul, where dozens of people, including journalists were arrested but later released. Following the public pressure, the government published a detailed list of the assets already sold, which included some of Jammeh's luxury cars, livestock, boats, construction equipment, household goods, parcels of land and heavy farm machinery. The long list showed the buyers, prices and sale dates. However, some of Jammeh's luxury cars like his customised Rolls Royce and Bentley were not in the list. It is not clear if the vehicles were sold or shipped out to him as the government had allowed him to take some items to Equatorial Guinea. The list sparked further outrage over how many valuable items had seemingly been sold at suspiciously low prices. No explanation was given by the government about the prices but the justice ministry in a statement said the sale had gone through a "legally grounded process". "At all times, the government acted within the confines of the law and in the public interest," the ministry said in a statement. In his address on Wednesday, Barrow said he had convened a cabinet meeting the previous day to discuss details of the sales, some of which he was learning about "for the first time". He said the country's parliament and the National Audit Office were both conducting parallel inquiries into the matter. "Their findings will be made public, and my government will enforce their recommendations to address the shortcomings discovered and hold accountable any individual or entity found culpable," the president said. He urged Gambians to remain calm, warning that his government "will not tolerate negligence, or any wrongdoing linked to safeguarding our nation's resources". But activists and opposition parties have dismissed the president's assurance, saying parliament cannot be trusted with the investigation. Yayah Sanyang, an opposition MP, has called for an independent probe, saying parliament was "full of ruling party loyalists". The Edward Francis Small Center for Rights and Justice, a rights group, has demanded that the president take responsibility and freeze the sale of all seized assets. In 2022, the US seized a luxurious mansion in Maryland, which was said to have been purchased by Jammeh through proceeds of corruption. In its investigation, the US Justice Department said Jammeh had acquired at least 281 properties during his time in office and operated more than 100 private bank accounts. 'I was raped by ex-President Jammeh' Gambia's Jammeh pact bombshell: Treachery or reconciliation? BBC reporter: How I was tortured in The Gambia Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
