The Civic Scribe: Articles & Poems

Baba Hydara’s eyes hold a grief that time hasn’t softened. His father, the outspoken journalist Deyda Hydara, was gunned down in cold blood nearly two decades ago, a brazen assassination widely attributed to the regime of then-dictator Yahya Jammeh. Baba testified before Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Repatriations Commission (TRRC), baring his family’s wound to the nation. He did his part for healing. Yet today, like hundreds of others whose lives were shattered by Jammeh’s 22-year reign of terror, Baba waits. He waits for justice. He waits for reparations. He waits for a sign that his suffering, and that of countless Gambians, truly matters to the government that replaced the tyrant.

The TRRC, concluded in 2021 after hearing harrowing testimony from nearly 400 witnesses, was a landmark achievement. It meticulously documented torture, rape, murder, witch hunts, and enforced disappearances sanctioned at the highest levels. Its recommendations were clear: prosecute perpetrators, including Jammeh himself, now exiled in Equatorial Guinea; and crucially, provide reparations to victims to help mend broken lives and acknowledge the state’s responsibility. This wasn’t charity; it was a cornerstone of the promised transition from brutality to democracy.

Three years later, the wait for reparations feels interminable, a cruel extension of the victims’ torment. While a Victims’ Center exists and a reparations bill was passed, tangible support remains agonizingly out of reach for most. The government cites logistical hurdles, funding shortages, and complex verification processes. These are challenges, certainly. But to those who endured electric shocks, watched loved ones vanish, or were forced into exile, these explanations ring hollow against the deafening silence of inaction.

The delay is more than bureaucratic; it’s a profound betrayal. Imagine the woman who testified about her rape by “Junglers” (Jammeh’s death squad), summoning unimaginable courage, only to return to a life of poverty and stigma with no support. Consider the families of the disappeared, clinging to the TRRC’s findings as official recognition of their loss, yet unable to afford basic necessities, let alone fund searches for remains. Reparations – encompassing medical care, psychological support, education grants, livelihood assistance, and symbolic payments – are not merely financial transactions. They are the tangible manifestation of the state’s apology, its commitment to righting historical wrongs, and its pledge that victims are the heart of this new Gambia.

Every day this promise goes unfulfilled chips away at the fragile faith in the transitional process. It whispers the old, toxic message: the powerful act with impunity, while the suffering of the powerless is irrelevant. It fuels disillusionment, cynicism, and the dangerous notion that justice is only for those who can afford to wait indefinitely. The government’s recent formation of a new coalition, while politically expedient, has further clouded the issue, raising fears that accountability and reparations might be bargained away for stability.

The international community, which rightly lauded the TRRC process, must now move beyond applause to active pressure and concrete support. Funding mechanisms need bolstering, technical assistance accelerated. Equally urgent is the need to push for Jammeh’s prosecution. His comfortable exile mocks every victim and undermines the entire justice project. Regional bodies like ECOWAS and the African Union must exert real leverage on Equatorial Guinea.

President Barrow and his government face a defining choice. They can allow the TRRC’s monumental work to gather dust, becoming another chapter of promises broken and victims abandoned. Or they can act with the urgency this moral crisis demands. Streamline the reparations process. Release immediate interim support for the most vulnerable victims. Publicly recommit, daily if necessary, to implementing all TRRC recommendations as the non-negotiable foundation of The Gambia’s future.

Baba Hydara, and thousands like him, aren’t asking for the moon. They are asking for recognition that their pain matters, that their loss is valued, and that the new Gambia they risked everything for believes in justice – not just in reports, but in action. They have testified. They have waited. How much longer must their healing be postponed? The soul of The Gambia depends on the answer. Deliver reparations now. Justice delayed is justice, and healing, denied.