By Mustapha Jallow
On Saturday, the victims of ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh inaugurated a new board of directors to strengthen the center further after it had suffered from internal disputes. The center also faced various setbacks in its operations and management due to corruption allegations and malpractices in the organization.
Mr Sheriff Kijera, the ex-chairman of the center, once filed a complaint against four members of the victim community at the Police headquarters in Banjul, accusing his members of obtaining $20,000.00 on behalf of the victim center without notification – but the accused members denied the allegations.
The elected new board members of the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violation (GCVHRV), comprising a chair, deputy chair, treasurer, secretary, and 5 other members – are set to restructure the organization.
Held at the center’s premises in Kololi, the inauguration brought together victims, heads of the center, representatives from human rights organizations and CSOs. In his acceptance speech, the chair, Demba A. Jawo, thanked the victims for the confidence reposed in them by electing them as the center’s board members. He said the new board is aware of the work of their predecessors and assured the victims that they will work even harder to improve the center.
Demba Jawo is also confident that with the members’ and stakeholders’ support and cooperation, the center will achieve its goals during their rule. “Under my watch, we will do everything necessary to ensure that the interests of victims are jealously guarded. We will also ensure they (victims) get what they deserve,” he said.
Apart from being a journalist, Jawo talked about how he was involved in human rights issues for most of his life. He also claimed to be one of the founding members of the Amnesty International Gambia Group. “So, we certainly need the goodwill cooperation of all stakeholders to succeed and achieve our mission,” he told the gathering.
The new chair of the victims’ center assured: “We, the board, will do everything within our ability to cooperate and do what is expected from us.” For his part, Adama Jallow, the National Coordinator of the victims’ center, talked about the center’s current by-laws, which he added are currently being reviewed to replace them with a constitution.
He commended the new board for a good start in ensuring that the center has a comprehensive constitution, which constitutes the fundamental principles and outlines the organization’s purpose, structure, and limits.
For the next coming years, Jallow said: “I would like the board to continue focusing on the interests of the victims, such as truth-seeking, accountability, prosecution, reparations, reconciliation, institutional and legal reforms.”
Finally, he thanked their development partners for supporting the transitional justice processes and its previous board members for supporting the interest of the victim’s community whilst in office.
