CHRI Disappointed With MoU - On Death Of Ghanaians In The Gambia

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has expressed “surprise” at the outcome of deliberations on the case of the murdered Ghanaians in The Gambia and charged the government of Ghana to show more commitment in pursuing the matter.

Reacting to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was signed on Thursday, between the governments of Ghana and The Gambia on the issue, the Executive Director of CHRI, Nana Oye Lithur, said the initiative, which had played a leading role in the matter, was disappointed with the outcome.

The human rights advocate said it was unacceptable that contribution was being considered for only six Ghanaians found dead in The Gambia without any mention of about 34 other Ghanaians who died or lost their lives during the unfortunate incident.

She also sought for compensation for Mr Martin Kyere, the survivor who testified for the government of Ghana during the fact-finding mission.

As part of the settlement, reached in Libya last Thursday, The Gambian government agreed to make contributions to the families of six Ghanaians who, the government of the Gambia claimed, were the only ones whose bodies were found on its territory.

There was also an agreement between the two countries to exhume and repatriate the six bodies to their families in Ghana so as to enable them to have befitting traditional burials.

'CHRI notes with surprise, the final conclusion on negotiations following a review of the Report of the Joint United Nations-ECOWAS Fact-finding Team on the circumstances surrounding the deaths and disappearance of the 44 Ghanaians in The Gambia in 2005,' she stated.

She further raised issues with the two governments alleging that they concluded the matter without recourse to the families of the affected Ghanaians who were killed or had disappeared.

According to Nana Oye, it was disappointing that the concerns of the affected families had not at all material times been factored into the negotiations by either the fact-finding mission or other government deliberations, despite the fact that the families had on countless occasions sought audience with the government.

Last Thursday, the governments of Ghana and The Gambia resolved to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the 2005 crime in line with the position of the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS.

In addition, the two countries agreed to follow up on any future leads in the case of those suspected to be missing.