By Mustapha Jallow
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) has recommended the Gambia Government to locate and/or arrest Lieutenant Colonel Solo Bojang for his cooperation in identifying the burial sites of executed Gambians by orders of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Solo Bojang was the former deputy of the most feared paramilitary group referred to as “Junglers”.
“Solo Bojang should be located to secure his cooperation in identifying the burial sites,” the truth commission said in its final report recently submitted to President Adama Barrow, which is now made public.
In Jammeh’s dictatorial regime, Lt. Col. Bojang allegedly participated in the executions and tortures of citizens. By then, he was the commander of the military group in Kanilai and the overall deputy commander of the Junglers (Jammeh’s hit squad).
The commission further recommended for investigations to be further conducted into the killings of Mariama Camara and Alpha Jallow with a view to prosecuting those found responsible. It said former president Yahya Jammeh should be prosecuted for the crimes referred to in this report and impose a life-ban on him from holding public office.
It also recommended the prosecution of all the ‘Junglers’ and other persons listed for their complicity in crimes referred to in this report, subject to the grant of amnesty that the Amnesty Committee may recommend.
It added that: “A mandatory course for all soldiers on human rights and on the role of the military in a democratic society should be introduced.”
According to TRRC, a mechanism to identify the burial sites of victims, exhume their remains and conduct their proper identification with a view to handing them over to their families for proper burial, should be put in place.
Meanwhile, the truth commission described how Jammeh was able to use his constituted “Junglers” to kill, torture or rape his own citizens who tried to question or opposed his regime.
Lt. Col. Bojang was known to be a very close aide of Jammeh. He was jailed for years after falling out with dictator Jammeh. At some point, he was kept incommunicado and served with several beatings by co-Junglers at the NIA torture chamber, a charge he made openly in court.
Bojang is also documented in the truth commission report, where he was found responsible for taking part in extrajudicial killings, beatings, sexual tortures of Gambians, especially being the ring leader of “witch-hunting” initiated by former president Jammeh.
