A leading member of the then opposition
coalition that defeated Yahya Jammeh as Gambian president, says he has forgiven
the former president and that he will not personally pursue him.
Ousainou Darboe, leader of the main opposition United Democratic
Party (UDP)
was only recently released from detention after Jammeh lost the December 1,
2016 elections, he was speaking to a BBC journalist currently based in The
Gambia.
He however adds that he would not object to
the former leader facing the International Criminal Court (ICC) if there is evidence that he
committed crimes that warrants him being hurled to the Hague.
Despite pleading not guilty to charges of
unlawful assembly, Darboe and 17 others were sentenced to three years in prison
in July 2016 by a High Court in Banjul. They were arrested after demonstrations
in April calling for political reforms and to protest against the death of an
official of the UDP in
custody.
The national organizing secretary of the UDP, Solo Sandeng, was arrested after
the April 14 demonstration and he died while in detention. His death sparked
the April 16 demonstration which resulted in more arrests including that of
Darboe.
Jammeh is currently on exile in Equatorial
Guinea after accepting last minute mediation efforts by Guinea and Mauritanian
presidents. Regional troops had been deployed by ECOWAS ready to force Jammeh out of power if
the mediation failed.
ECOWAS and other international
bodies had lauded Jammeh for accepting the election results but soon after his
decision to reject the results, they condemned his action and insisted on
enforcing the will of the Gambian voters.
The swearing in of President Adama Barrow had
to be done in the Senegalese capital of Banjul because of political uncertainty
and fears of insecurity. Barrow flew out to Bamako before returning to Senegal
where he stayed for about a week prior to his swearing-in. He is billed to
return to Banjul this Thursday.
-Africanews
AEP
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