In brief
The Gambian government has appointed Martin Hackett as its first special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for human rights abuses during Yahya Jammeh's 22-year rule. This appointment follows the findings of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which documented widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The move is seen as a crucial step toward accountability, as victims and advocates have long sought justice for past atrocities.
British barrister Martin Hackett has been appointed as The Gambia's first special prosecutor to try those responsible for human rights abuses carried out during the 22-year rule of ex-President Yahya Jammeh, which ended when he went into exile in 2017.
Hackett will head a newly created office charged with dealing with the cases from a period characterised by widespread repression, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was established to document the extent of the alleged abuses.
In its final report, handed to current President Adama Barrow in 2021, it identified those most responsible and recommended their prosecution.
The TRRC, which heard harrowing testimony from victims, former security operatives, and other witnesses, also called for reparations to be paid to the victims, warning that failure to act risked entrenching impunity.
The TRRC has started phased compensation payments, beginning with victims of abuses committed shortly after the 1994 coup when Jammeh first came to power. However, for many survivors, financial compensation is secondary to accountability.
Among the most notorious cases highlighted by the TRRC were the 2004 killing of journalist Deyda Hydara and the murder of over 50 mainly West African migrants, executed by security forces after being wrongly accused of plotting a coup.
A handful of perpetrators have already been convicted abroad under the principle of universal jurisdiction, including former members of the notorious paramilitary unit and death squad known as the Junglers; some of whom have been jailed in Germany and the US.
The appointment of Hackett, who has previously served at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon and investigated war crimes committed during the Kosovo War, is seen as a decisive step toward domestic accountability.
Attorney General Dawda Jallow stated that Hackett has a four-year mandate and was chosen from a wide selection of candidates.
Jammeh, who refused to cooperate with the TRRC, left power only under pressure from regional leaders.
They sent in troops to The Gambia when he refused to step down after his surprise election defeat in December 2016. Now aged 60, Jammeh has denied wrongdoing and is believed to be living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
