By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: The Gambia has begun paying reparations to victims of crimes committed during the violent 22-year regime of former president Yahya Jammeh that ended in 2017. The country’s 2021 Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission report recommended that more than 1,000 victims be paid 237 million dalasi…
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Where Religion Once Served a Repressive Regime, Gambia’s Clergy Seek Redemption
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives For decades faith in The Gambia was weaponised — not as a source of healing, but as a tool of political control. Under Yahya Jammeh’s authoritarian rule, mosques and churches became less places of worship and more instruments of state propaganda. Jammeh compelled Gambians to follow his religious directives…
A General’s Final Days: Inquest Reveals Lapses in Care Before Death of Bora Colley in Military Custody
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives Magistrate Dawda Phatey of the Bundung Magistrates’ Court delivered the conclusion of a coroner’s inquest that sought to answer troubling questions surrounding the death of General Bora Colley. Over the course of nearly a month, nine witnesses—ranging from senior military officers to family members and medical professionals—offered testimony about…
US Shifts From Aid to Investment in Africa
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives In a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa, Ambassador Troy Fitrell, Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. State Department announced a dramatic shift in US foreign policy in Africa last month, which he said was aimed at transitioning the U.S.-Africa…
Beyond the Bars: Is Gambia Reforming Its Notorious Prisons?
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives In the early 2000s, Ebrima was silently led through the rusted gates of Mile 2 Central Prison in handcuffs. Convicted of rape during the former regime of President Yahya Jammeh, he remembers his first night vividly — the darkness, the stench, the heat, and the fear. “There was no…
As Campus Tensions Rise Students Renew Calls for Grievance Mechanism Recommended by Truth Commission
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives Two decades after a government crackdown on student protestors left 14 young people dead, tension is once again mounting on university campuses. At the heart of the unrest is a familiar grievance say experts: the absence of a credible, independent mechanism for students to air their concerns. Students say…
Gambia Orders Inquest into Death of Ex-Jungler Brigadier General Bora Colley
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives The Gambian government has ordered a coroner’s inquest into the death of Brigadier General Bora Colley, a former military officer accused of grave human rights violations under ex-president Yahya Jammeh’s regime. Colley, who had been in custody since August 2024 after voluntarily returning from exile, died on March 9, 2025,…
Justice Delayed: The Gambia’s Victims Demand Broader Accountability
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives The long-awaited arrest warrant for Sanna Manjang, accused of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other human rights violations during Jammeh’s 22-year rule, has been met with a mix of relief and frustration among victims of Yahya Jammeh’s regime. The country’s 2018 Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission accused Jammeh and dozens…
International Expert Says Hope Not Lost for Justice After US Funding Cuts As Victims Demand Speed
By Yankuba Jallow with New Narratives The long-awaited arrest warrant for Sanna Manjang, accused of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other human rights violations during Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule, has been met with a mix of relief and frustration among victims. The country’s 2018 Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission accused Jammeh and dozens of his lieutenants…
Gambian Prison Officers Testify In Crimes Against Humanity Trial Of Former Interior Minister In Switzerland
Two Gambian prison officers—Lamin Sanneh and Abdou Jammeh—testified to torture, and poor food and hygiene conditions at Gambia’s central prison— Mile 2—in the crimes against humanity trial of Gambia’s former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko in the Swiss city of Bellinzona. …
Alleged Jammeh Enforcer Sonko Goes on Trial for Crimes Against Humanity in Switzerland
Ousman Sonko, a 54-year-old former interior minister of The Gambia, goes on trial for crimes against humanity in the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in the city of Bellinzona….
Mixed Reactions to Conviction of Ex-Gambian Minister; Sexual Violence Charges Dismissed
“The conviction of Ousman Sonko, one of the pillars of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal regime, is a major step on the long road to justice for Jammeh’s victims,”…
Lawyer for Former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko Argues Prosecution Failed to Connect Sonko to Alleged Violations in Crimes Against Humanity Trial
Philippe Currat, a Swiss attorney defending Ousman Sonko, Gambia’s former interior minister currently on trial in Switzerland for crimes against humanity, said prosecutors have failed to prove their case. …
New Narratives Supports Gambian Newsrooms to Cover Milestone Swiss Trial of Jammeh Enforcer
New Narratives is pleased to to support the reporting of leading Gambian journalist Mustapha K. Darboe of the trial of Ousman Sonko, a former lieutenant of Gambia’s dictator president Yahya Jammeh, in Bellinzona, Switzerland….