The Gambia At War With Ghana?
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Public Agenda (Accra)
August 12, 2005
Posted to the web August 15, 2005
Amos Safo
Accra
...10 Ghanaians deported to Senegal...8 confirmed dead
Latest information from The Gambia say ten Ghanaians have been arrested by
the para military of The Gambia and dumped at a border village -Amdalai near
Senegal. The immigration officers who led them to the border town allegedly
threatened and warned them never to return to The Gambia.
The 10 were residents of one house in Brufut near Ghanatown where the 8
bodies of Ghanaians alleged to have been killed by The Gambian police were
discovered. The ten were allegedly tortured and made to work on farms for a
week by the para military.
Reports reaching Public Agenda quote well meaning Gambians as saying that
during the police raid, only the Ghanaians were picked up for allegedly
spreading information that the police were responsible for the death of the
8 Ghanaians on July 25.
The deported Ghanaians have since arrived in Senegal leaving their
belongings in The Gambia. In a related development, the immigration
department in the past few days arrested a number of Ghanaians in Serrekunda
for alleged migration offences and have been kept at the mile II (2) prisons
near Banjul for several days without being charged at court. As a result of
the deaths and targeted arrests, Ghanaians are reported to be living in
fear.
Last week, Public Agenda gathered that, desperate to make it to Europe
through the backdoor, some Ghanaians on transit in The Gambia met their
untimely death.
The reports say eight out of the ten West Africans, who were killed under
mysterious circumstances on July 25, have been identified as Ghanaians.
One Ghanaian eyewitness who sent distressing emails to Ghanaians all over
the world said on the day of the killing, two Ghanaians, one from the
Brong/Ahafo Region and the other from Apam in the Central Region approached
him for refuge, saying there were 53 other Ghanaians and West Africans
looking for a place to hide. He said the two Senegalese, two Togolese, two
Nigerians and 47 Ghanaians were seeking a ship connection to Europe.
The eyewitness said the area where the deaths took place is about 400 meters
from the newly built Brufut Police Station, at 'Ghana Town' at the outskirts
of the village. The bodies were found at different spots within the vicinity
with assorted foreign currencies splashed all over the area. Eleven more
bodies were found hours later, bringing the total to 19 so far discovered.
The eyewitness suspects that after paying huge sums of foreign currency to a
self-styled connection man, he failed to transport them to Europe and
instead, arranged for some thugs to arrest all 53 who were kept at a secret
camp and executed in batches of 10. On that fateful Sunday, July 25, when
another batch of 10 was herded to the firing squad, two escaped and are
currently in police custody. The unfortunate eight who were killed included
five Ghanaians.
Following the discovery of the dead bodies at Tanji-Bird Watching site, a
number of Ghanaians in 'Ghana Town' in the Gambia were arrested by The
Gambian authorities. Some human rights organisations have raised concerns
that the style and method of the arrests could hamper independent
investigations.
Reports say the deaths and subsequent arrests have driven the remaining
Ghanaians in Brufut underground and restricted their movement. While others
speculated that the men might have been killed elsewhere and dumped at
Brufut, others suggested they might have drowned in the nearby Atlantic
Ocean. But this theory has been dismissed by the police considering the
battered nature of some of the victims who were all mature men.
Police Crime Coordinator, Pa- Amdy Jallow, is quoted as saying that the
identities of the men were not yet known. But he said the nature of the
bodies indicated there was foul play. "We do not know the cause of their
death yet, as the Police investigators are on the ground gathering more
facts. I am hopeful that we will be able to make a breakthrough," he said.
Ghana's Deputy Foreign Minister, Akwasi Osei Agyei said a representative of
the Ghanaian Mission in Senegal has been sent to the tiny West Africa
country to investigate the scale of Ghanaians' involvement in the deaths.
The deputy minister admitted on Peace FM last Wednesday that, there was a
large population of Ghanaians in "Ghana Town" in The Gambia, some of whom
arrived there with the hope of making it to Europe.
He said during his recent visit to The Gambia in the company of the Vice
President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, they advised the Ghanaians to be wary of
human traffickers who were extorting huge sums of foreign currencies from
their victims and promising to take them to Europe.
Another email received from Banjul wondered why The Gambian press had
blackout the mysterious deaths. The email says since July 25 when the dead
bodies were discovered, all media houses in The Gambia have failed to
publish updates for the benefit of the public. "The reason for this silence
is not known, but it will surely include the state of fear in the population
and the censorship of the press", said a worried Ghanaian.
"The lack of update smells a rat and raises eyebrows and authenticates the
rumours that the government wants to kill the story for reasons best known
to it."
Since Yahya Jammeh swept onto the political scene in 1992 his government has
promulgated inimical press laws that have virtually silenced critical
private media. The famous Deyda Hydara, co-founder of and editor-in-chief of
"The Point", an independent newspaper was allegedly killed by government
agents (Green Boys) because of his criticism of the inimical press laws and
Yahya Jammeh's dictatorial rule.
Relevant Links
West Africa
Senegal
Gambia
Conflict, Peace and Security
Ghana
Gambia is fast becoming a hotbed for human rights abuses. According to the
United States Embassy 2004 Human Rights Report on Ghana, Gambia is the
destination for most women and children trafficked from Ghana. In 2002, 50
children being trafficked to The Gambia were intercepted and returned to
Ghana. Earlier in 2001 a woman caught trafficking eight boys and three girls
to The Gambia was arrested and charged.
The report said in April 2004, 12 girls who had been trafficked to The
Gambia for prostitution were rescued and brought back to Ghana.
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