Malagen

10/08/2024

Day two of the Malagen-UNESCO training on hate speech and digital literacy for high school students.

09/08/2024

Open Media Center in partnership with UNESCO continues its training on Digital literacy and hate speech for high school students in all regions of the Gambia.

The three days training aims to educate students/young people on online safety and how to identify, eradicate hate speech and cybersecurity techniques.

10/07/2024

Malagen in partnership with Think Young Women organized a Town hall meeting on the state of s*xual and gender based violence in the Gambia, at Tamala Beach Resort.

The event supported by the US Embassy and the Freedom House through USAID ,seeks to raise awareness on the issues of gender based violence in relation to recently published stories by Malagen on s*xual abuses/ harassment.

07/06/2024

07/06/2024

Happening now

07/06/2024

Don’t forget to join us today @ 5:00!
Interesting conversations on SGBV stories from Malagen in collaboration with Think Young Women.

29/05/2024

Join us in an interactive discussion on our recently published SGBV investigative reports, on Twitter this Saturday at 5pm.

25/05/2024

Given President Barrow’s status and influence, his comments have the potential to incite violent confrontations between supporters of his ruling party and the opposition. The suggestion that supporters can ‘fight back’ when ‘insulted or when laws are broken’ is concerning as it justifies vigilante actions and encourages supporters to take into their own hands matters that could be addressed through legal channels.

The Gambia President Adama Barrow has called on his National People's Party (NPP) supporters to stand firm and fight anyone who insulted them. The president’s remarks were captured in a viral audio circulating on WhatsApp. The recording was made during the launch of NPP’s newly…

25/04/2024

An administrative staff of The Gambia College exposed by Malagen for attempting to coerce a 22-year-old student into s*x in exchange to enter her missing grades has been found guilty and sentenced to a jail term and a fine, but the victim said the punishment is too lenient.

A Gambia College administrative staff member who attempted to r**e a female student at the college has been sentenced to a two-year jail term, fined D50,000, and ordered to pay D200,000 in compensation to his victim. Alassana Janneh, 32, was suspended by the college and…

24/04/2024

We continue our training on Digital literacy and hate speech today in Central River Region, Brikama Ba Senior Secondary School.

23/04/2024

Open Media Center in partnership with UNESCO continues its training on Digital literacy and hate speech for high school students in all regions of the Gambia.
The step down training aims to educate students/young people on online safety and how to identify and eradicate hate speech.

Our team has covered the North Bank Region on Monday at a training held at Kerewan Senior Secondary School before delivering another session for senior school students in the Lower River Region hosted by Soma Upper & Senior Secondary school on Tuesday.

15/04/2024

New evidence has emerged in the story of Roy Webster, a British national resident in The Gambia, shedding light into how he managed to evade justice for the alleged s*xual abuse of two 12-year-old girls, identified only as Teneng and Jongfolo.

Through admissions obtained from parents and undercover investigations, Malagen uncovers a web of corruption and collusion implicating both the police and parents. Not only did money exchanged hands, but also one of the parents who now says he ‘can’t lie anymore’ appears to be facing veiled threats to provide false testimonies to protect Roy

https://malagen.org/investigations/the-big-story/corruption-coercion-and-cover-up-how-roy-escapes-justice-for-alleged-s*x-abuse-of-teneng-and-jongfolo/

22/03/2024

As Mustapha K. Darboe departs from Malagen, we extend our heartfelt wishes for his continued success and fulfilment. We remember him for his sense of humour and genuine camaraderie. We remember him for his unwavering patriotism and deep love for his country. His passion for journalism and dedication to duty have left an indelible mark on us all. We honour his integrity, his loyalty to the truth and adherence to highest standards of professionalism. We thank him enormously for his foresight in the establishment of Malagen and his contribution to its remarkable growth. The memories we shared, and the successes we achieved together, some of which were historic, will forever be cherished, celebrated and treasured.

To our audience and partners, local and international, and the public at large, we assure you of our continued commitment to the ideals that underpin the Malagen project. We acknowledge that the transition ahead will be gradual and challenging as the Malagen project has been built around Mr. Darboe as the face and centre of it. We cannot replace him, and his personal sacrifices and legendary contribution are to remain honoured.

But with a stronger team and new strategies to be established, we will chart a new path forward, fulfilling the legitimate expectation you place on us, and elevatinga our standards and standing even further.

We remain in your service, and ever grateful for your support.

Our management

23/01/2024

The former Interior Minister, Ousman Sonko, battling charges of crimes against humanity in a Swiss court in Bellinzona has said that the ‘The Independent’ newspaper was closed by a court order. However, the newspaper records at the time indicated that the bi-weekly paper was forcibly shut down on March 28, 2006.

Sonko took the stand on Tuesday afternoon to respond to allegations levelled against by witnesses including Madi Ceesay, a former managing director of The Independent, who finished his testimony on Tuesday morning.

Ceesay and the paper's former editor-in-chief Musa Saidykhan were arrested in March, 2006 and allegedly tortured by Junglers within the premises of the National Intelligence Agency. Both Madi and Musa said Sonko, who was the police chief at the time, served on the investigation panel whose members either participated or endorsed their torture. Sonko denied any wrongdoing.

https://ifex.org/the-independent-newspaper-still-closed-after-one-year-mfwa-demands-its-reopening/

23/01/2024

Former journalist and lawmaker Madi takes stand as last witness in crimes against humanity trial of former interior minister Sonko

17/01/2024

It's day seven in crimes against humanity of former interior minister Ousman Sonko. Modou Ngum, a victim of torture arrested on April 14, 2016— has taken his seat before a 3-member panel of judges in Bellinzona, Switzerland.

“They stripped me naked and took me to a room at the NIA,” Ngum, who was 29 years old at the time, told the court yesterday.

“The Junglers came. They beat me until I could not hear myself crying. They later threw me on the grass in an open courtyard. That was where I regained consciousness."

Follow our live blog here:

16/01/2024

'Ngum took the Swiss court into the NIA complex, describing the abhorrent conditions, and emotional and physical torture meted against him and others.'

16/01/2024

You can follow our live blog from the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona where Gambia's former interior minister Ousman Sonko is standing trial for crimes against humanity.

It was an emotional moment as a victim of torture, Modou Ngum, took the court into the NIA complex, visualising the abhorrent conditions, emotional and physical tortures meted at them following their arrest on April 14, 2016.

15/01/2024

You can follow our live blog from the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona where Gambia's former interior minister Ousman Sonko is standing trial for crimes against humanity. The court hears its fifth witness in the trial, prison officer Lamin Sanneh.

https://malagen.org/live-blog/

12/01/2024

Witness says Gambia’s ex-interior minister oversaw interrogation and torture

Demba Dem, the fourth plaintiff in the crimes against humanity trial of Gambia’s former interior minister, Ousman Sonko, testified on Friday and told the court that Sonko allegedly sat on an investigative panel that oversaw his interrogation and torture. The trial against Sonko began this week in the Swiss city of Bellinzona.

Dem was a Gambian lawmaker for ex-President Yahya Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party in 2006 when he was arrested by security officials over his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to overthrow Jammeh. (Dem has always maintained his innocence and denied being involved in the attempted coup.)

In the aftermath of the attempted coup, close to 70 Gambians—military officers and civilians, including Dem—were arrested and subjected to horrific torture at the complex of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), on the outskirts of Banjul.

“The suspects were all tortured at the NIA. Evidence was fabricated and used against them to convict them of treason,” Gambia’s Truth Commission found. Those tortured also included journalists Madi Ceesay and Musa Saidykhan, both of whom are expected to testify against Sonko in the coming days.

Dem is the third plaintiff before the Swiss court to testify on events related to the 2006 attempted coup. Sonko faces allegations that he participated in the panel that oversaw the interrogations and torture of detainees, charges he denied. If found guilty, Sonko could face up to 20 years in prison.

The court resumes hearings on Monday.

11/01/2024

Second r**e victim testifies in case against Gambia’s former interior minister in Switzerland

Bellinzona, Switzerland—On Thursday, *Fatou Ceesay, a r**e victim and plaintiff, took the stand in the crimes against humanity trial against Gambia’s former interior minister Ousman Sonko in the Swiss city of Bellinzona.

Sonko was the police chief under ex-president Yahya Jammeh from 2005 to 2006. In the latter part of 2006, he was appointed minister of interior, a position he held from November 2006 to February 2012 and from May 2012 to September 2016.

The Swiss Attorney General’s office, along with 10 plaintiffs from Gambia, is accusing Sonko of torture, murder, false imprisonment, r**e, and deprivation of liberty, allegedly perpetrated against Gambians during the 22-year rule of Gambia’s former dictator Jammeh.

*Ceesay, who requested not to use her real name, was accused of being involved in a foiled coup led by the army chief of defense staff Col. Ndure Cham. In the aftermath of the coup, several people—military officers and civilians—were rounded up, including Ceesay, who was a civilian.

A panel was established and composed of various heads of security institutions. Sonko allegedly sat on it, Ceesay testified. Several investigations, including one by the country’s Truth Commission, established that such panels are confession exercises accompanied by the beating of Junglers, a paramilitary hit squad operating on the orders of Jammeh.

“They took me to a room. They removed my glasses, put a plastic bag over my head, and started beating me from all directions. That went on for a long time. They do this until you can’t breathe,” said Ceesay. After the beating, she was allegedly r**ed by one of the Junglers.

“One of them came in and turned off the light,” she said. “The whole room was dark. I thought I was going to be beaten again. I saw a Jungler with a mask. He jumped on me, opened my legs and started molesting me. He r**ed me,” said Ceesay.

Hearing continues tomorrow with testimony from Demba Dem.

11/01/2024

The hearing on charges of crimes against humanity against Gambia’s former interior minister Ousman Sonko goes into its fourth day at the Federal Criminal Court in the Swiss city of Bellinzona. The second witness in the trial, Lt. Col. Bunja Darboe, just wrapped up his testimony in connection to his alleged torture in custody following his arrest in 2006 for involvement in the Ndure Cham-led foiled coup.

“Jammeh’s government was a dictatorship. There were a lot of human rights violations. Jammeh had a lot of enablers. Ousman Sonko was one of them,” he told the court on Thursday.

The third witness, Ramzia Diab, also tortured at the NIA in 2006 just took the stand.

11/01/2024

Victims of alleged Jammeh henchman Ousman Sonko welcome Swiss trial as Gambian government faces pressure to bring justice

The former interior minister Sonko goes on trial in Switzerland battling charges of crimes against humanity. The trial is on its fourth day and two witnesses have so far testified against Sonko: a serving military officer Lt. Col. Bunja Darboe tortured at the NIA in…

10/01/2024

First witness testifies against Gambia’s former interior minister Ousman Sonko in crimes against humanity trial in Switzerland

Bellinzona, Switzerland–The first witness in the crimes against humanity trial of 55-year-old Ousman Sonko—Gambia’s former interior minister—told a Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona that Sonko treated her like a s*x slave.

Binta Jamba is the widow of Almamo Manneh—a former soldier in Gambia’s State Guards—an elite military unit guarding the Gambian presidency. In 2000, Manneh was accused of a coup and was killed under mysterious circumstances.

Sonko is currently on trial in Switzerland for crimes against humanity for his alleged role in a series of crimes perpetrated against Gambians under the 22-year rule of former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh. Jammeh ruled Gambia with an iron fist and was accused of numerous human rights violations, including murder and severe torture. Sonko first served in the military, rising through the ranks to command the State Guards in 2003.

Jamba, who first testified before Gambia’s Truth Commission in October 2019, said she was r**ed multiple times by the former interior minister at various locations in The Gambia, events she said left lasting physical and emotional scars.

Between January to December 2000, Jamba told the court Wednesday, “I was just like a s*x slave to him.” Jamba said she was impregnated by Sonko twice between 2000 to 2002 and was forced to abort both pregnancies, which, she said, were arranged by Sonko. (Abortion is illegal in the Gambia.)

“I was very sick after the abortions… I was constantly bleeding,” said Jamba, as she broke down in tears. Sonko’s lawyer, Philippe Currat, had no question for Jamba on the substance of her testimony. Currat later explained that Jamba’s statement was contradictory, and his questions would have added little value.

Manneh’s murder

From 1994 until early 2000, Manneh, Jamba’s husband, was close to Jammeh and implicated in the torture of several high-profile political detainees, including former ministers of Gambia’s first president, Dawda Kairaba Jawara, in 1995, an investigation by Gambia’s Truth Commission found.

Some detainees were “beaten and kicked by the soldiers, who subjected many of them to mock executions. They were threatened frequently by Almamo Manneh and [his colleague] Bubacarr Bah, who would tell them that they were waiting for the order of the (Capt. Yahya Jammeh) to kill them and cut them into pieces and throw them to the dogs. This caused the detainees great fear and anguish as they genuinely believed that they would be killed,” the Commission found.

It is unclear why Manneh fell out with Jammeh. However, Jamba, who described her husband's relationship with Jammeh as a “good” one, said Manneh’s murder was orchestrated by Sonko.

“Yahya Jammeh, Ousman Sonko, and Ismaila Jammeh [Sonko’s orderly] planned and organized the killing of Almamo Manneh, which was carried out by the group sent out to lure him to Bund Road,” where Manneh was killed, said the Commission. But at the hearing on Wednesday, Sonko declined to speak on the specifics of Manneh’s killing.

“I cannot comment as far as the case of Almamo Manneh is concerned,” said Sonko. “In my statement, I did not refer to anything [that reveals] operational [details]…I am still bound by the official secrecy act.”

Horrific torture of Lt. Col. Bunja Darboe

The second witness to take the stand on Wednesday was Lt. Col. Bunja Darboe, a serving Gambian soldier, arrested on allegation of his involvement in a 2006 coup. Darboe was allegedly tortured and forced to write a statement implicating himself, a document used as prima facie evidence against him at the court-martial in Banjul.

“All they said was that a speech was found on me. But that was not true. They forced me to write it,” said Lt. Col. Darboe. “Sonko is here, and I challenge him to tell the truth.”

Sonko was then chief of Gambia’s police who allegedly sat on a panel of security officer that oversaw the torture and interrogation of detainees including Darboe. The investigation by the Truth Commission found that such panels were accompanied by brutal torture of Junglers— members of a hit squad who operated under Jammeh’s orders.

Darboe said his torturers placed a plastic bag over his head, and he was subjected to horrific torture. He then broke down in tears.

“My hand was hurting me. Everywhere was paining me. When they were beating me, my hand was fractured and also dislocated. One of them cocked a pistol and asked me to say my last prayers. I could not say anything,” said Darboe.

“At that moment, I just wanted to die. I did not want to live. I was fed up with the humiliation. The pain was so extreme that I could not bear it. I was helpless.”

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.

10/01/2024

Sonko’s version of UN experts’ denial to access Mile 2 Security Wing in 2014

In Ousman Sonko’s 5-page preliminary testimony on Tuesday, the former interior minister, provided context on events that occurred during his time as police chief, interior minister and military leader. Sonko raised the 2014 visit of UN experts to assess prison conditions in The Gambia. “I invited the UN Special Rapporteurs to visit The Gambia so that their recommendations would enable us to activate political leverage to improve the situation as much as possible,” Sonko claimed.

But in 2014, the two UN special rapporteurs on torture and extra-judicial executions— Christof Heyns and Juan Méndez— were offered a guided tour upon their arrival in Gambia on a prison visit under the mandate of the Human Rights Council. The experts were reportedly informed that “under no circumstances would they be allowed to visit the Security Wing, where [among others] the death row prisoners are held.”

“Due to denial of access to the Security Wing of Mile 2 prison to visit those sentenced to lengthy sentences, including the death penalty, an inference must be drawn that there is something important to hide. This incident forced us to suspend this integral part of the visit,” said Heyns at the time.

Sonko admitted that the prisons in Gambia “are notoriously substandard” but he said such conditions are not as a “result of Gambian state policy”. He attributed it to a historical legacy of colonialism.

“To tell the truth, I was particularly disappointed that the two Special Rapporteurs preferred to provoke a clash with the Presidency as soon as they arrived, rather than carry out their mission in such a way as to build a relationship that would be useful for the country’s development,” Sonko said.

10/01/2024

Binta Jamba just took the stand. It is the third day of his trial. The former interior minister Ousman Sonko returned to court in the Swiss city of Bellinzona to face charges of crimes against humanity. Sonko first took the seat before the judges on a minor procedural matter.

He told the judges that he contested all allegations made by Binta Jamba. Jamba, a former immigration officer and widow of Almamo Manneh— a member of state guards who was killed in 2000— alleged to have been r**ed by Sonko multiple times.

“Your testimony is he r**e you?” asked the Truth Commission.
“Yes,” replied Jamba.
“ He forcefully r**ed me.”
“And what happened after that?” asked the Commission.
“Well after that day Sonko decided to make it a routine. Every time he will come after.”

10/01/2024

Ousman Sonko, former interior minister, began his Tuesday testimony in Switzerland yesterday by explaining the difficult circumstances under which he was detained in Switzerland.

The former interior minister was arrested in Switzerland in January 2017. During his first experience of detention from 2017 to September 2018, he said he was locked in a cell for 23 hours a day with limited time to eat and bathe.

“The cell, the window is small and high up. You cannot see outside. I have no access to natural sunlight. I have to use the light 24/7,” Sonko told the court. These restrictions, he said, resulted in an eye injury.

After 2018, Sonko was moved to another detention centre. The conditions there, he said, improved slightly. His seven years in detention, he told the court, have caused his health to deteriorate. Because of his detention experience, Sonko said Switzerland was in no position to judge human rights.

09/01/2024

It is not a good 55th birthday gift for Sonko as the first major decision in his trial in Bellinzona went against him. His lawyer, Philippe Currat, raised a number of issues in over a 3-hour submission yesterday. He argued that Switzerland does not have a jurisdiction to try Sonko on events before 2011, as they occurred before the offence of crimes against humanity came into force in Switzerland.

The court in its ruling today rejected all procedural issues Currat raised.

With this judgment, Sonko's trial now goes on a substantive hearing.

Also, some bad news for Gambian journalists. The court rejected all parties' requests to have the trial translated in English. The journalists now have to rely on colleagues and lawyers on the floor to understand the content of what is being said during sessions which are all in German.

Sonko is back in court as he turns 55 today! The judges are reading a ruling on the preliminary questions raised in the trial. At the opening yesterday, Sonko’s lawyer Philippe Currat, argued that Switzerland does not have jurisdiction to try Sonko on events before January 2011, as they occurred before the offence of “crimes against humanity” came into force in Switzerland.

According to Currat, crimes against humanity are the only offence for which “universal jurisdiction” – the legal principle that holds international crimes should be prosecuted regardless of where the crimes were committed or the nationality of the perpetrators and the victims – would apply.

If the court agrees, half of the charges could be dropped. “Since the offence of crimes against humanity only came into force in Switzerland on 1st January 2011, and this offence is the only charge contained in the indictment for which the Swiss authorities have universal jurisdiction to potentially bring Ousman SONKO to justice, it is, therefore not possible to apply the offence to acts committed before 1 January 2011,” argued Currat.

Currat argued that the crime of torture cannot be applied in Sonko’s case, as it “is a crime in the Swiss law only as a crime against humanity,” which could be held unenforceable. Currat also claimed that a number of witnesses were heard in a process that violated the law.

The judges are currently reading a ruling on Currat's submission. Will Sonko get a positive nod as a birthday gift?

09/01/2024

Sonko is back in court as he turns 55 today! The judges are reading a ruling on the preliminary questions raised in the trial. At the opening yesterday, Sonko’s lawyer Philippe Currat, argued that Switzerland does not have jurisdiction to try Sonko on events before January 2011, as they occurred before the offence of “crimes against humanity” came into force in Switzerland.

According to Currat, crimes against humanity are the only offence for which “universal jurisdiction” – the legal principle that holds international crimes should be prosecuted regardless of where the crimes were committed or the nationality of the perpetrators and the victims – would apply.

If the court agrees, half of the charges could be dropped. “Since the offence of crimes against humanity only came into force in Switzerland on 1st January 2011, and this offence is the only charge contained in the indictment for which the Swiss authorities have universal jurisdiction to potentially bring Ousman SONKO to justice, it is, therefore not possible to apply the offence to acts committed before 1 January 2011,” argued Currat.

Currat argued that the crime of torture cannot be applied in Sonko’s case, as it “is a crime in the Swiss law only as a crime against humanity,” which could be held unenforceable. Currat also claimed that a number of witnesses were heard in a process that violated the law.

The judges are currently reading a ruling on Currat's submission. Will Sonko get a positive nod as a birthday gift?

08/01/2024

You remember the testimony, before the Truth Commission, of the 47-year old Fatoumatta Camara, a native of Basse who took to the streets with Ebrima Solo Sandeng on April 14, 2016? Well, today, she sat barely 3 meters behind former interior minister Ousman Sonko being tried in Switzerland on charges of crimes against humanity.

Camara and colleagues were severely tortured in state custody in 2016, leading to the death of Ebrima Solo Sandeng. Since 2017, at least 5 of the tortured victims have died.

“It took a long time (they were beating me)... They beat me until I fainted and when I woke up I found myself dumped in the grass in an open courtyard. They came and poured water on me. My wrapper was completely wet,” Camara told the Truth Commission in October 2019.

In the aftermath of their arrest, it took about 3 court sessions, Camara and 2 others— Nogoi Njie and Fatoumatta Jawara— could not appear. Camara, Nogoi and others alleged that they were taken to the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency where they were tortured, killing Sandeng, on the orders of Sonko.

Sonko is battling allegations of torture, murder, false imprisonment, r**e, deprivation brought against him by 9 Gambian plaintiffs.