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(LEFT) Isatou Marong, the widow of Sergeant Basiru Camara, photographed at home in Old Yundum. In 1994, Basiru, along with two dozen other soldiers, were tortured and executed by fellow soldiers loyal to former president Yahya Jammeh after being wrongfully accused of attempting a coup.
Isatou said “I did not know what had happened to Basiru. For years I searched all over, going from place to place. No answers, just rumours. I thought he was still alive somewhere. I went to all the prisons in the country.” In 2019, witness testimonies at the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) revealed what happened in 1994 “That was the day I knew Basiru was dead, that my husband is no more”. Basiru’s remains were exhumed, from a mass unmarked grave in Yundum army barracks only 3km from where she lives.
(RIGHT) Victims’ underwear, and wires that were used to bind their hands and feet at a mass grave at Yundum army barracks that included the remains of Sergeant Basiru Camara