Yusupha Mbaye was one of the survivors of April 2000 student carnage that took the lives of 14 students. For 17 years, Mbaye has not only been searching for justice but also living with pains. And in this Facebook write up, Yusupha poured out his heart. He settles for nothing other than justice for victims of trigger-happy security forces.
Alhamdulillaahi Rabbil Aalamiina [All praise be to Allah, the God of every living thing].
Another April has come. It is 17 years today since a man like me decided that I should not be like him. He did his best to confine me to a wheelchair after failing to take my life. Murdering me was his intention because 14 of my peers didn’t make it to today. For this, I thank Allah again and pray for His mercy upon the gentle souls of those young kids who were armed only with pencils and exercise books and yet were brutally gunned down. To this day, I feel the pain both physically and psychologically. I am still seeking justice which seems far away.
In the meantime, I still fervently pray for a miracle to have the required medical attention and to pursue my academic goals and ambitions. That, in my mind, is the top most priority in getting me justice. No amount of punishment to the perpetrators can restore my physical and psychological well-being. It will only serve as a deterrent for current and future generations.
Humbly, I am thanking everyone supporting us in any way during these hopeless moments. Your reward can only come from the Most High God.
I continue to anticipate for other strategies and avenues to get me out of this situation which has, for the past 17 years, almost drowned my hopes.
Ends
You are a strong man, otherwise, you wouldn’t have achieved all that you did, with the injuries you suffered, both physical and mental. Our prayers are with your fallen colleagues and to you and your fellow survivors, goes our endless goodwill wishes for a prosperous and worthwhile life.
It is sad that you should even be asking for help today. Your injuries were state inflicted and the state should dispense corrective justice in your cases, to ensure that you receive adequate compensation that is proportionate to the injuries you all offered, as well as the lives lost.
Unfortunately, many of us are too consumed with the desire for revenge and totally focused on dispensing retributive justice. We need to have a balance between the two, because ensuring that the victims, especially the surviving ones are adequately compensated, is as important as or even more important, than punishing the culprits.
For my fellow forum members who query the cost of holding a referendum, but insist on justice for the victims of April 10/11th, I wish to draw their attention to ONE simple fact, and that is:
Justice for the victims is not possible unless we hold a refrendum, because the criminals have been indemnified by provisions which have been implanted in the Entrenched Clauses of Constitution.