By Arret Jatta
According to the Government’s Spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh, government has identified a British citizen to serve as the special prosecutor for the Special Prosecutor’s Office set up to try crimes committed during former President Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
Sankareh made these revelations recently as guest on West Coast Radio’s Coffee Time.
The Gambia government has set up a special unit to prosecute Jammeh-era crimes.
According to Sankareh an enormous case like these ones- dealing with crimes that have international dimension- is expected to have all kind of lawyers and judges from a structure, and an array of legal minds.
He said the Special Prosecutor will lead investigations and oversea the coordination of the prosecution of cases in the Special Criminal Court established to try human rights violations during the Jammeh–era. “This court will try crimes committed between July 22nd, 1994 to the last day the tyrant exited power,” he said.
With regards to funding, Mr Sankareh said “as it stands, the Gambia was able to secure money that would foot the bill for one full year and efforts are on to try other avenues and see what could be done”.
Sankareh observed that complex legal cases such as these ones are cumbersome and therefore requires long-term approach in the search for justice. “They are time consuming and one cannot reasonably expect the court to begin sitting in 2026 and wrap up before December 2026. So we are looking for a long haul towards justice,” he noted.
