Exiled Gambians Meet Vice President and Justice Minister for Safe Return

KMA, WAVE Reps and Vice President © WAVE

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT

Representatives from Kerr Mott Ali, currently exiled in Senegal, recently met with Vice President Muhammed BS Jallow and the Minister for Justice, Hon. Dawda Jallow, to advocate for their return home, as dictated by a High Court ruling in their favour.

Currently residing across the border in Senegal, less than a kilometre from their displaced homes, is an entire community of Gambians from Upper Saloum. According to the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC), the former President Yayah Jammeh issued executive directives that led to the forceful removal of Gambians from the “Ndigal Sect of Kerr Mott Ali.”

The TRRC, tasked with investigating human rights violations that occurred from 1994 to 2017 under the dictatorship of former President Jammeh, found that the forced removal of the Ndigal Sect was unlawful and “contrary to international human rights law and criminalised under the Rome Statute, which is applicable in The Gambia.”

However, two high-profile meetings, one with the Vice President last week and another with the Justice Minister on 2nd April 2025, suggest momentum is building for the return of exiled Gambians from Senegal.

After the TRRC concluded its investigation in 2021, it recommended that “members of the Ndigal Sect still living in exile in Senegal should be returned to live in Kerr Mott Ali (Gambia) and have their properties returned to them. The government should enforce the judgement obtained by members of the Sect in the High Court of The Gambia.”

In response, the government issued a TRRC White Paper, stating that “prior reconciliation and social cohesion activities are essential as a precursor to the comprehensive implementation of the Judgement.”

A series of talks have taken place since the popularisation of the TRRC’s recommendation, spearheaded by the Women’s Association for Victims Empowerment (WAVE), and including exiled Gambians of Kerr Mott Ali, the current occupiers of their lands and properties, and stakeholders from neighbouring communities.

In early March 2025, a series of meetings took place, which included key stakeholders mentioned above and in another TRRC recommendation. This recommendation called for the establishment of “a Peace Committee for Kerr Mott Ali, comprising all relevant stakeholders, including the National Human Rights Commission.”

In response to this recommendation, the government stated that it “will take the necessary steps to establish the proposed Peace Committee, consisting of traditional leaders, religious leaders, the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs, and other relevant stakeholders.”

MoJ, KMA and WAVE Representatives © WAVE

Meeting with the Vice President

Kumba Seck, the daughter of the former Alkalo of Kerr Mott Ali, who lost his life during the forced exile, attended the meeting with the Vice President, which she welcomed as an opportunity to progress their return home.

She used the meeting to highlight the challenges her people face daily “as people living in another country that is not our own.” She explained that her message to the Vice President was a request for his support: “Since 2009, we have been living in Senegal without any real stability or opportunities. I explained that we desperately need assistance to return to Gambia.”

She added that “one of the biggest difficulties we face as exiles is that Gambia does not officially recognise us as its citizens, and Senegal does not fully consider us part of their nation. This leaves us in a very difficult position. We sincerely need help to return to our homeland, Gambia.”

Another leader of the Kerr Mott Ali sect who attended the meeting was Kebba Seck, who also revealed details of their discussions with the Vice President. According to Kebba, “the meeting was a milestone. We have been rendered stateless for 16 years now. Never once have we had the opportunity to be heard, nor has our plight as victims been understood by the highest authority. We do not seek anything other than to live in our country like all other Gambians and to have our deprived properties returned to us.”

According to Kebba, “over the years, we’ve been subjected to all sorts of allegations, stigmatisation, and hate speech, all aimed at campaigning against our religious freedom and our peaceful coexistence in The Gambia.”

The Technical Director of WAVE, Ms. Priscilla Yagu Ciesay, also noted some of the key discussion points with the Vice President, which covered the Kaira Bengho initiative aimed at reintegrating the exiled Gambians safely back home.

She explained the roles various institutions played during the peace talks, which included both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, with the goal of promoting tolerance among Gambians. According to WAVE’s Ciesay, her institution and partners are “working towards the realisation of TRRC recommendations as outlined in the government’s white paper.”

In conclusion, she highlighted the efforts of various institutions and the Central River Region’s Local Government leadership to improve access to healthcare, education, and other services for Gambians living in exile. However, she emphasised that it is now time for the central government to take leadership in driving the process forward.

In the end, the Vice President was reminded of the high court judgement, the need for displaced Gambians to access their farmland, and the importance of exiled Gambians returning home to live in peace and harmony with residents of Kerr Mott Ali and the neighbouring communities.

“They just need to have their rights respected, promoted, and protected like every other citizen of The Gambia, as guaranteed in the Constitution, since they are now stateless,” said Ms. Ciesay.