Yahaya Jammeh
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has indicated that it’s considering a request by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Trial International for the extradition and prosecution of former Gambian dictator, Yahaya Jammeh in Ghana.
Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid made this known in a statement issued recently.
According to the statement, “Government has been informed that Human Rights Watch, in collaboration with Trial International led by an America lawyer, Reed Brody, has unearthed fresh evidence which they believe ties the former Gambian President Yahaya Jammeh to the killing of 44 Ghanaians on or about 22nd July 2005.”
Former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Nana Oye Lithur, who was virtually silent on human rights abuses during the tenure of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is part of those who are pushing for the prosecution of Mr Jammeh.
The statement explained that “this request has both legal and international diplomatic implications.”
It said, “The government has therefore tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Attorney-General’s Department to study the request and explore the full extent of its legal and diplomatic implications and advise the government on the way forward for this request.”
According to the statement, “Government shall inform the Ghanaian people of its decision in respect of this matter as soon as it receives the reports of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General’s Department.”
It stressed that “meantime, government wishes to assure the Ghanaian people that it remains committed to protecting the interest of every Ghanaian. Government, therefore, wishes to call on the families of those who lost their lives and the Ghanaian population to exercise restraint, as it seeks good counsel on this matter.”
By Melvin Tarlue