Africa-Press – Gambia. Mayor Talib Bensouda of the Kanifing Municipal Council yesterday confirmed that the council has launched an investigation into the misconduct of its police, who were filmed stripping a woman naked to recover ‘stolen’ monies from her. The video caused an outrage with many people condemning it as an indecent exposure of the woman and her innocent baby who was captured as male municipal police officers removed money from their underwear.
Embarrassed by the incident, a seriously sounding Mayor Bensouda said: “We have instructed for an immediate investigation into the matter and the council will take appropriate steps based on the findings of the investigative panel”.
Asked whether the culprits will be held accountable, Mayor Bensouda said: “We would go by the outcome of the investigation. But we take this as a very serious matter. It would be premature for me to comment on what we are going do exactly,” he said.
Meanwhile in a statement shared, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ), said it is deeply concerned by the manner the KMC police officers ruffled and searched the lady with her child.
“Their conduct demonstrates a total lack of professional standards and ethics which severely undermines the fundamental rights and dignity of the suspect and her child. To have male officers search a woman and render her partly naked, while forcefully separating her from her innocent child without any regard to the tender age of the baby is abusive,” the Centre lamented.
It further noted that the environment in which the woman and her child were placed, characterised by loud and aggressive voices with rough pushing and pulling, “does not demonstrate professionalism and consideration of the welfare of the child, whose privacy was exposed in the video.
“Furthermore, to subject the suspect and her child to amateur video recording and then releasing the highly dehumanising video publicly demonstrates a lack of professionalism and regard for human rights by the officers.”
“The Centre recommends that the authorities at KMC urgently investigate this incident and ensure that the officers responsible are held accountable and share the outcome of the inquiry publicly. The KMC police must develop necessary protocols and create necessary tools and facilities for arrest, detention, search and recording of such incidents for purposes of professionalism and accountability. The Inspector General of Police must provide necessary training and other support to all municipal police services to ensure professionalism, adherence to the rule of law, efficiency, and accountability in their work”.
It also recommended that the National Human Rights Commission provide necessary capacity building and development of policies, guidelines, and tools for municipal police services to ensure their adherence to the rule of law and effective protection of human rights. “Women, child and disability rights CSOs to engage all municipal police services to provide them with necessary capacity building on the rights of women, children, and persons with disabilities,” it said.
The Centre also offered its services free of charge to all municipal police services to train them on human rights protection for law enforcement officers.
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