A 23-year-old former beauty queen in The Gambia, Fatou “Toufah” Jallow, has said she was raped in 2015 by ex-President Yahya Jammeh when he was in office.
Her testimony is part of a Human Rights Watch and Trial International report that details another alleged rape and sexual assault by Mr Jammeh.
The BBC tried to contact Mr Jammeh, who now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea, about the allegations.
A spokesman for his APRC party denied the accusations made against Mr Jammeh.
“We as a party and The Gambian people are tired of the steady stream of unfounded allegations that have been reported against our ex-president,” said Ousman Rambo Jatta, in a written statement to the BBC.
Ms Jallow told the BBC she wanted to meet Mr Jammeh, 54, in court so he could face justice.
“I’ve really tried to hide the story and erase it and make sure it’s not part of me.”
Ms Jallow said she was 18 when she met Mr Jammeh after winning a beauty pageant in 2014 in the capital, Banjul.
In the months following her coronation, she said the former president acted as a father figure.
But after she refused an offer of marriage she was asked to attend a ceremony at state house. She was then taken to the president’s private residence and raped.
Source: BBC
