The Gambia: President Yahya Jammeh's order to execute prisoners is an assault on human rights progress

 Via CPRA Daily Briefing

In a speech given during celebrations of the Muslim Eid el-Fitr, the Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh announced a plan to have all death row prisoners executed. The subsequent executions sparked worldwide condemnation and lifted the veil on the increasingly authoritarian regime in the Gambia. They are also likely to raise concerns over the country's democratic credentials.

The African Union (AU) and various human rights organisations tried to persuade President Jammeh to abandon this plan, but were unsuccessful. On Sunday 26 August, nine prisoners were hastily executed by a firing squad during the night. Some have argued that President Jammeh could well take advantage of this to rid himself of political figures accused of plotting against his regime.  According to Amnesty International, there are currently 38 more death row prisoners awaiting execution. The US State Department has called on President Jammeh to review the remaining cases and ensure that the Gambia does not stray from its own or from international law, as it is suspected that due process has not been followed in these executions. Two of the prisoners executed on Sunday were Senegalese nationals. Senegalese Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye has formally protested against the executions and has asked Gambian ambassador Mass Axi Gey that the life of a third Senegalese death row prisoner be spared. 

Considering the fact that President Jammeh has thus far ignored the pleas of the AU and many other international bodies, it seems unlikely that the executions will be halted by Senegal's request. As a result President Jammeh's decision is not only further damaging the questionable human rights record of the Gambia, but is also damaging relations with its neighbours. While President Jammeh in the past has announced his ability to cure AIDS and infertility, and has said that all homosexuals will be beheaded, his latest decision still comes as a shock. 

Yet the Gambia hosts the African Court of Justice (sic) [African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR)] , and is thus meant to be a hub of human rights, but the plan to keep executing prisoners is a clear indication of the reversal of the human rights progress and a regression in the democratisation process. In addition to this, the Gambia is yet to sign and ratify the 1989 Second Optional Protocol on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which is aimed at abolishing the death penalty. Disturbingly, Sunday's events mark the first executions to take place in the Gambia in 27 years. This raises serious questions as to why the President would want to reverse this good record. Unfortunately, the situation does not seem to be unique to the Gambia, as out of 54 African countries only 16 have legally abolished the death penalty to date. 

In addition to the global move to abolish the death penalty, backed by the Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR, there is an ongoing debate on how, in the rare cases where execution is decided upon, the person should be executed. If lethal injections, which were once thought to be the most humane form of execution, are no longer considered to be all that humane, then death by firing squad (as practiced in the Gambia) is certainly not humane. 

As mandated by their domestic law and the fact that the country did not sign the Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR, Gambian authorities believe they have the right to continue to practice the death penalty in cases of murder and treason. However, the way in which President Jammeh is going about the executions bodes ill for his country. The Gambia has signed the 1984 Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, but because it has not been ratified it is not legally binding. This is quite concerning as prisoners on death row are often in danger of being subjected to torture or cruel, inhumane treatment. The Gambia will have to amend its domestic law if it does not wish for its image to be irreversibly damaged by this lack of due process and lack of legal protection for prisoners. 

President Jammeh said that he decided to have the death row prisoners executed since he could not allow 99 per cent of the population to be held hostage by one per cent. However, by making this decision, he forced the Gambia back into a global minority of countries that still practice capital punishment. Considering the direct correlation between human rights progress and development, this raises the question over who is really holding the Gambia hostage.

What Clinton's visit to Kenya means

By Nicodemus Minde

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on a seven day Africa tour. She is visiting a number of African countries in what is seen as an attempt to check on China’s growing influence in the continent. It is barely two weeks since China pledged over $20 bn in credit facility and technical support in various sectors of the African economy. This pledge was made in the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) in late July in Beijing. Chinese influence in the continent has grown enormously. The Chinese are mainly targeting the construction industry and rentier African economies. This has sent shivers to the US who see China’s growing influence as a direct challenge to their global economic hegemony.

Clinton’s Africa visit can be interpreted as a counter check of the growing Chinese influence. True to America’s foreign policy strategy, the trip has been choreographed and tailored on Washington’s pursuit of democracy and the respect of the rule of law as its enduring foreign policy essentials. Clinton is visiting Senegal, South Sudan, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda and Benin. Her visit to Senegal amplifies the spirit of smooth democratic transition in competitive and free and fair elections. Senegal’s opposition candidate Macky Sall beat incumbent Abdoulaye Wade in a fiercely contested second round of the Presidential elections early this year. The smooth of the transition was heralded as one off in a region that is largely volatile to electoral malpractices and coup d'états.  Clinton’s visit to Senegal can thus be seen as a way to congratulate the country for the smooth transition.

Why Kenya?

Madam Clinton meets PM Raila Odinga

I would like to explore the implications of Clinton’s visit to Kenya. This is Clinton’s second visit to Kenya. Her first visit was in August 2009. The United States has an interest in keeping Kenya stable, so Washington has a good deal in Nairobi. The Kenya Defense Forces are in Somalia in attempts to dilute and scuttle the Al Shabaab militia. Kenya needs assurances and support from the Americans. America sees Kenya as a key ally in the attempts to squash terrorism in the Horn of Africa region. Clinton also visited Uganda which is also a key ally in the attempts to deal with the Al Shabaab menace.

Madam Clinto with President Kibaki

During her visit to Kenya, Clinton reiterated the need for a democratic transition in the coming elections in March 2013. This can be affirmed by her meeting with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). She also had an audience with the Chief Justice Willy Mutunga where they discussed among other things, the speed of judiciary reforms. Madam Clinton further discussed Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, who intend to run for the presidency despite the noose of ICC still hanging in their necks. It is believed that Clinton sought the government position on the possible eligibility of the candidacy of these two individuals. Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa, who is a key political ally of the two, is believed to be of the support of the two to run for the president. However, in the meeting, Wamalwa said that the matter is in court and that the courts will rule over the matter. Clinton is said to be against the idea of the two running. In the event of either Ruto or Uhuru winning the elections next year, Clinton says that it could jeopardize the otherwise smooth relations between US and Kenya.