In Gambia, the spectre of Jammeh looms large

Under the rule of former President Yayha Jammeh, the Gambia was marked by harsh authoritarianism and, judging by the testimonies at the not-long-completed sittings of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), a litany of human rights abuses. But in the country, Yahya Jammeh commands a mixed legacy. The chief of the village of Kanilai, in southern Gambia, is a cousin of the former leader. He thinks Jammeh is innocent and believes the former president should be 'let go free'.

(Photo: A demonstrator holds a poster reading "Babili Mansa (the nick name for Yahya Jammeh) must come back" during a demonstration demanding for Yahya Jammeh's, Gambia's former dictator, return in Sukuta, Gambia. Credit: ROMAIN CHANSON/AFP via Getty Images)