Martha Minnow argued that “the clandestine nature of torture and abuses by repressive governments doubles the pain of those experiences with the disbelief of the community and even jeopardy to the victims own memory and sanity.” She further asserts that holding in to accounts of torture and murder requires a revisiting and exposure in the interest of not only naming and shaming perpetrators, but also for justice to take its fullest path. Gambian citizens as part of the civilized community of nations must therefore revisit the villains behind such sad master pieces of torture and murder committed against innocent citizens. In the interest of laying effective, efficient and transparent institutions and mechanisms for future generations, we must identify and show the whole world those torturers and murderers who call themselves Presidents, Secretaries of State, Ambassadors, Lieutenant colonels, Commanders, Captains, Lieutenants, and police commanders.

From 1994 to date, human rights situation on the smiling coast of West Africa (The Gambia) was tainted by torture, detentions incommunicado and extra-judicial killings, and until today the perpetrators of all such crimes are loitering in our streets with impunity. The good questions that Gambians and friends of The Gambia continue to ask are: Who are these torturers and murderers of The Gambia? Why do they use torture and murder as a means of survival?

In response to the above questions, what is certain though, is that the villains behind the sad masterpieces of Torture and Murder in the tiny West African nation are none other than President Yaya Jammeh, Secretary of State Edward Singhateh, Secretary of State Yankuba Touray, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Singhateh, Major Musa Jammeh, Captain Alhagie Martin, Lieutenant Kawsu Camara (Bombardeh) and other elements of the notorious national intelligence agency. It is such a cruel and blood thirsty gang of ignoramus that is today paddling the affairs of our beloved Gambia. These people are the core and the brain behind all atrocities inflicted upon peaceful citizens.

Naming and shaming such cruel officials of our communities does not stem from vengeance but a restorative power of telling the truth by revisiting our past. The nocturnal and mercurial Gambian President survives his reign through such a killing machine that is being nurtured and enriched through the dirty method of torture and murder. Carefully probing into the poor background of such ruthless elements of society, one could see there retarded mentality of achieving success through bloody and brutal means. They are the type a social scientist would refer to as “Sick in the brain and blames society for their shortcomings of life” when in the actual fact no efforts were made on their part to confront the realities of their situation.

November 11th 1994 was a perfect manifestation of the barbaric, cruel, and inhumane nature of these vagabonds and bandits in charge of Gambian state of affairs. With the full knowledge of President Yaya Jammeh, extra-judicial killings were carried out by Secretary of State Edward Singhateh, former Vice-chairman Sana Sabally, and Secretary of State Yankuba Touray in a grand style. They shot at their own brothers, friends, colleagues, bury some alive and cut some with machetes before dumping their remains into pit latrines. This was what a coward in the caliber of Edward Singhateh did. Together with his brother Lieutenant Colonel Peter Singhateh, he was also the mastermind of the Joint Criminal Enterprise that brutally murdered former Finance Secretary of State Ousman Koro Ceesay.(MAY THE SOULS OF ALL THEIR VICTIMS LAY IN PERFECT AND ETERNAL PEACE). As innocent and generous they may pretend to be, the Singhateh brothers are fake characters and charlatans that operate under the cover of darkness to silence innocent citizens. Sleeping dogs never bark and this price shall one day be paid in the bitterest way possible.

One could rightfully argue that President Jammeh, Secretary of State Singhateh, Secretary of State Yankuba Touray and lieutenant colonel Peter Singhateh never upheld human rights as moral values but appropriately and consistently sacrificed human rights to non-moral interests. They have not only successfully mastered the art of Torture and Murder, but successfully indoctrinated and trained certain nonentities of the armed forces to become experts of torture and the art of killing. Hon Wassa Janneh who now resides in New York and countless other Gambians are living witnesses to such tortures orchestrated by these villains of such master pieces in the Gambia.

The likes of Major Musa Jammeh (a secondary school dropout), Captain Alhagie Martin (an empty barrel), and Lieutenant Kawsu Camara (the self imposed master of all trades) all successfully graduated from the regimes school of Torture and Murder. Stinging in the minds of many Gambians is there widespread attacks on media houses, their systematic and well- calculated styles of torturing and threatening of citizens. Together with elements of the commando unit and the notorious national intelligence unit, they mastered the art so well that they have succeeded in terrorizing all sections of Gambian communities. The attempt on Lawyer Ousman Sillah’s Life and the brutal murder of Deyda Hydra could in no doubt be linked to their professionalism and expertise in carryng out Torture and Murder on a grand scale.

Nonetheless, in the face of potential cynicism and despair, the trials of Nuremberg launched the remarkable international movement for upholding human rights and the rule of law. This has laid the foundations for trials of human rights violators and “etched a set of ground rules about human entitlement that circulates in local, national and international settings” ( M.Minow).The language of human rights and a vision for trials following violations of such trials equips a society with the tools of accountability even where it is not easily achieved. It is therefore, our moral obligation to continue naming and shaming such ruthless elements of our society until they are brought under the fullest radar of law.

They extra-judicially executed innocent officers and men of the armed forces, orchestrated the shooting deaths of unarmed student demonstrators, rape women, tortured pregnant women to death, burnt media houses, attempted the life of lawyer Ousman Sillah, murdered journalist Deyda Hydra, detained many innocent citizens incommunicado and caused the disappearance of many other gallant sons and daughters. There is therefore, no doubt that they have mastered the art well, mastered it well enough to be the villains behind the sad master pieces of Torture and Murder in the tiny West African nation.