This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
Published on November 1, 2019, Fatou Jallow, a former beauty queen, accused former Gambia president Yahya Jammeh of rape during a 1996 incident.
According to Jallow, Jammeh's actions were motivated by a desire to assert his ego and power. She recalled words like 'who do you think you are?' and 'he gets any woman that he wants,' which Jammeh allegedly used to intimidate her.
Jammeh had come to power in a bloodless coup in July 1994 and was repeatedly re-elected in disputed circumstances until being defeated in December 2016 by Adama Barrow.
After losing the election and initially refusing to step down, Jammeh fled the country in January 2017 and eventually took refuge in Equatorial Guinea.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was established to review abuses under Jammeh's rule.
