Acting in accordance with section 24(1) of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Act, 2017, the Executive Secretary of the TRRC has appointed Rohey Samba-Jallow as Director of Communications, Outreach and Media for the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). Mrs. Samba-Jallow will oversee the work of a team of communications and reconciliation officers and work closely with the Executive Secretary and Commissioners to deliver on the mandate of the TRRC. Mrs. Samba-Jallow is currently the Secretary General of the Writers’ Association of The Gambia and secretary to the Board of the Collecting Society of The Gambia responsible for instituting copyright laws. Rohey also runs a charitable foundation, Japo Ligueyal Gambia, whose primary objective is to help raise funds to finance projects and welfare programs for socially, economically and culturally disadvantaged communities in The Gambia.
Rohey Samba-Jallow holds a Master’s degree from World Maritime University in Sweden and a DELF B1, Diploma in French. The first female sea pilot in The Gambia, Rohey is a prolific writer, a published author and an award-winning poet with more than 15 years’ experience as a media analyst, commentator and columnist. She was editor-in-chief of the Ghana Regional Maritime Academy’s student magazine from 2005 – 2007. In the Gambian National Assembly elections of April 2017, Rohey was contracted by the European Union Elections Observation Mission (EU EOM) to work as a Media Analyst, and Assistant Press and Public Outreach Coordinator. As a result of her networking and communication abilities and her strong writing skills in both English and French, Rohey was primed as the lead social and broadcast media researcher who helped optimize the EU Mission’s communication plans and campaigns during the elections.
Following her appointment Mrs. Samba-Jallow stated, “I am excited to work with a wide range of experts in different programme areas of the TRRC to enhance social awareness and contribute towards restoring the rights of victims of human rights abuses of the Jammeh regime and building a ‘NEW’ Gambia that is aware, conscious and premised on the slogan ‘Never Again.’”
“We are elated to have Rohey on our team,” said TRRC Deputy Executive Secretary Musu Bakoto Sawo. “She possesses very unique qualities that made her the leading candidate for this position. Her technical skills coupled with her experience won us over. She is a great addition to the team. Congratulations Rohey.”