Baba Jobe News Today

In the trial against former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, the Swiss court sentenced him to 20 years' prison for crimes against humanity.

An ex-prison guard has testified before a Swiss court about the murder of Gambian politician Baba Jobe while he was in custody in 2011, when Ousman Sonko was Minister of the Interior. But Sonko blames Yahya Jammeh.

Mr Sonko denied wrongdoing and argued that he neither exercised administrative nor operational oversight over the prisons.

It is not just Gambians hoping for justice in this case.

Mr Sonko faces charges of murder, rape, false imprisonment, torture, among others.

Bai L. has been in pretrial detention since his arrest in March 2021 in Germany, where he had been living since leaving The Gambia in 2012. This trial, which began on April 25, 2022 in the German city of Celle, is the first to tackle human rights violations committed in The Gambia during the Jammeh era on the basis of universal jurisdiction.

Who is Bai L. and what are the charges against him? Why is Bai L. being tried in Germany? What was the human rights situation in The Gambia under Yahya Jammeh? Who were the victims of Bai L.’s alleged crimes? What evidence has been presented at the trial? What has Bai L. said about the charges? How have survivors and victims been involved in the proceedings? What sentence does Bai L. face if he is convicted? Will Yahya Jammeh or other high-level officials be prosecuted for serious crimes

Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister of The Gambia, has been indicted by a Swiss court for crimes against humanity committed in 2000-2016.

Appearing before the Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commissions (TRRC), Bah testified that Azziz was detained at Mile Two (state central prison) just to kill Baba Jobe.  

Nine former soldiers and members of the infamous “Junglers” hit-squad of former president Yahya Jammeh have returned to Gambia from exile and remain at large. Pending a government White Paper on the implementation of the Truth Commission recommendations, due to be published by May 24, the Ministry of Justice has not yet decided whether to prosecute them, to the confusion of the victims.