By Landing Ceesay
President Adama Barrow, presidential candidate of the National People’s Party (NPP) has accused Essa Mbye Faal, an independent candidate and former Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) lead counsel, of using the TRRC to score political points.
“It is unfortunate that someone who thinks he is educated, and given a position to work with victims. Those are the people you should support, but you are using them to score political points. You take TRRC for political gains. He (Essa Faal) uses TRRC to sell himself to the Gambians so that they can know him. He (Essa Faal) is still using TRRC to score political points. But I am telling the victims that I will never use you to score political points. If I’m looking for votes, I will be looking for it somewhere else, but not the TRRC and the victims. People who are still in pain, who are still angry, who need support, you are using those people to score political points. That is really unfortunate and I never thought about such a thing. We never want to use TRRC to score political points. But the victims should know that I, President Barrow, I’m the architect of the TRRC,” President Barrow said at an NPP rally at Buffer Zone on Wednesday.
Reacting to President Barrow’s allegation, Essa Mbye Faal said Barrow’s statements are as true as his (Barrow) declaration of climbing a 500 meters ‘Kaba’ tree.
“These are desperate people (referring to NPP), that’s why they are saying this. You know when people are desperate, they do or say desperate things. These are funny accusations. I show respect to our President because he is the President of the country. His statements are as true as his declaration of climbing a 500 meters ‘Kaba’ tree, or his commitment to building a 1500 beds hospital. These are all false. But you see, I do not want to embarrass our President, I do not want to humiliate him by engaging him in this issue. Because it is clear that he is not telling the truth. But he is doing this to score political points. I forgive him and I know he is speaking out of desperation, he is panic; he is confused, he does not know what is going on. I leave it at that,” Faal responded.
Essa Mbye Faal, an independent presidential candidate who will be contesting against President Barrow and other 4 presidential candidates in Saturday’s presidential election, was the lead counsel of the TRRC established by an act of Parliament.
The TRRC was established by an act of parliament to investigate and establish an impartial historical record of human rights violations, but to also consider reparations for the victims of abuses, promote reconciliation and promote non-recurrence. The Commission’s main task is to establish an impartial historical record of human rights abuses such as killings, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, false HIV treatment program, Witchcraft accusation and persecutions against some communities from July 1994 to January 2017.