Forced to undress and bath before young men, 75-year-old Sukai relates her anguish

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By AWA SECKA-JAWARA

Sukai Jallow, a 75-year-old woman who is also a survivor of the 2009 ‘witch hunting’ exercise and a native of Galoya, Kombo North, West Coast Region in The Gambia has told the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) “witch hunters” who forced to undress herself and took bath in front of the young men.

Sukai added that when she returned home up to date she is not feeling well and got very feeble

She disclosed that she was captured by the “witch hunters” with her sister, Fatou Sow she was pounding a coos and asked her to go with them.

“I asked them what happened and they told me that they are going to treat me because I was not feeling well,” she remark.

According to her, they took her to Makumbaya where they parked the bus at the compound of the alkali (village head) Sagar Kujabi and the ‘witch hunters’ wore red cloths accompanied by former President Jammeh’s notorious youth group called Green Boys who were carrying pick axes.

She narrated that when they arrived at Makumbaya they asked them to board the bus forcefully which they did and they were taking to Kololi.

She added that when they arrived at Kololi they were taken to a big room, given food to eat and then they asked to give them anything she might have in her possession.

The witness stated that she gave them D700 dalasi which was never returned back to her and then she saw some people who were given concoction to drink lying down on the ground like dead corpses and other were sleeping.

She recalled how she was taken inside and given full and half cup of concoction to drink and they told her to chew the leaves.

“After drinking the concoction, my whole body limped and I fell asleep until the next day morning,” she told the Commission.

She explained that when she woke up one of the Green Boys came to her and asked her how many people she has eaten and threatened to give her more concoction to drink if she did not tell the truth.

The witness said she blame former President Yahya Jammeh and hold him responsible for what had happened to them.