By Omar Bah
Justice Minister Dawda Jallow confirmed on Friday that former President Yahya Jammeh, currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea, and all other perpetrators during his 22-year rule will face trial in person before a newly established Ecowas hybrid court in Banjul unless there are genuine reasons to try them elsewhere.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) recently approved the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Jammeh and his associates for gross human rights violations committed during his regime.
The decision was made during the 66th Session of the Authority of Ecowas Heads of State and Government, held on December 15, 2024, in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Tribunal aims to bring justice and accountability for atrocities committed between July 1994 and January 2017 under Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
The crimes include extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, fake HIV/AIDS treatments leading to deaths, and the 2005 massacre of over 50 West African migrants, including nine Nigerians.
A joint technical committee has been formed to develop the legal framework for this tribunal, which will operate in The Gambia but may hold trials elsewhere if necessary.
Responding to a question on where Jammeh and his associates will be prosecuted during Friday’s Mansa Kunda, Minister Jallow said the Special Tribunal will be stationed in The Gambia, and the plan is to prosecute all the perpetrators here.
“However, we have other legal provisions in the tribunal that would, in case we have fears about prosecuting some of the perpetrators here, empower the court to move its sit to Dakar, Accra, Abuja, or anywhere within Ecowas, if necessary, depending on the situation,” he said.
Commenting on when the prosecutions will start, Minister Jallow said a committee has been established to deal with the recruitment of the special prosecutor, who will have to first go through all the cases and reports from the TRRC before filing a litigation at the Tribunal.
“The committee has started meeting, and hopefully very soon they will start the advertisement for the position, and once the prosecutor is appointed, he/she will be handed all the files from the TRRC as they were submitted to the government to start his work,” he said.
Minister Jallow assured that the government has made a commitment to give the prosecutor all the powers and support required to execute his/her duties.
Update on Gen Bora Colley
Providing update on former Jammeh aide General Bora Colley, accused of gross human rights abuses, who returned to the country and was arrested in August 2024 by soldiers at Yundum Barracks, Minister Jallow said General Bora is still detained and helping investigators in their investigation.
Constitution
Asked what would happen if the 2024 draft is rejected by the National Assembly, Minister Jallow said: “Honestly speaking, The Gambia is not in a constitutional crisis. We have a constitution that is in place. We badly need a new constitution because we want to draw a line between the past and the new dispensation we all yearn for and are in now. It is also very critical because it’s a little bit traumatic for the victims, and so many Gambians believe the 1997 is overtaken by the new realities of our society at the moment.”
