By Da One
The nation is talking. Opinions are sharply divided. A segment of the population wants to see blood. The other segment says enough blood has been shed and too much suffering has been endured. And there are those in the middle. Both sides have some very legitimate arguments enough to convince any judge and jury to see it their way. Social media is abuzz.
More revelations will be made before the TRRC as the cycle will repeat itself over and over again, until our hearts and minds are tired with sorrow, pity, regret, hurt, anger, dejection, etc.
Eventually the nation will have to come to grapple with its past and prepare to shape its future in a very precarious present. What route should the country and the people then take?
There are no easy answers. Eventually, the TRRC will submit a report to the National Assembly with recommendations to prosecute those who have committed the most heinous of human rights abuses. That, of course, will hinge on the (un)willingness of the victims and the survivors to take either the course of restorative justice or retributive and punitive justice.
There are already strong indications that Gambians would like to take the route of restorative justice. In this case, both the perpetrators and victims come to the table to talk through some very difficult phases that are modeled for that particular purpose taking into consideration the unique conditions that might prevail. These could be time, economic gap, living conditions and so on and so forth.
Let’s survey some comments against and in defense of Sanna Sabally in this seemingly too public trial:
Charges against Sabally:
-He is a mass murderer;
-He murdered in cold blood, execution style; and
-He justified his actions as self-defense and as a necessity.
In Defense of Sabally:
-He owned up to his deeds in their gruesome nature;
-He took responsibility for those deeds and the consequences thereof;
-He volunteered to testify, to tell the truth and to apologize to the victims, the survivors and the nation at large; and
-He expressed his willingness to take part in reconciliation processes organized by the TRRC.
Sabally’s case is in the extreme and we all need to remember that no matter our positions. He is both a perpetrator and a victim of grave human rights abuses. He is literary living on time that was already cut short by events he helped put in motion. He was in no better position to survive than Sadibou Hydara had. He is basically not supposed to be alive. Genau! As Sanna Sabally himself frequently said during his testimony.
Now, our concern in this transitional period should be focused on healing wounds, mending the damages and paving a way for a future of freedom, liberty, progress and prosperity. That includes learning relevant lessons from the past twenty-two years and applying those lessons to build a new and better Gambia and to deliver that Gambia for posterity.
History is recording.