Gambia names special prosecutor for Jammeh-era crimes
Decades of silence may finally give way to accountability in The Gambia, as the West African nation has appointed British barrister Martin Hackett as its first-ever special prosecutor tasked with bringing to justice those responsible for human rights violations committed during the iron-fisted rule of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Hackett, a seasoned international law practitioner who previously served at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon and conducted war crimes investigations into senior military commanders during the Kosovo conflict, will lead a newly established office dedicated to prosecuting abuses spanning Jammeh’s 22-year grip on power, a period marked by enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and systematic repression.
Attorney General Dawda Jallow confirmed that Hackett was selected from a broad pool of candidates and carries a four-year mandate to pursue the cases.
The appointment follows years of groundwork laid by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which was set up to document the full scale of abuses under Jammeh’s regime. After hearing harrowing testimony from victims, former security operatives, and witnesses, the TRRC submitted its final report to current President Adama Barrow in 2021, identifying key perpetrators and calling for their prosecution. The commission had warned that inaction would risk entrenching a culture of impunity.
Among the most chilling cases the TRRC brought to light were the 2004 murder of journalist Deyda Hydara and the execution of over 50 predominantly West African migrants, killed by security forces after being falsely accused of plotting a coup. Central to many of these crimes was a feared paramilitary death squad known as “the Junglers,” several of whose former members have already been convicted in Germany and the United States under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
While the TRRC has begun phased reparation payments, starting with victims of abuses carried out in the immediate aftermath of Jammeh’s 1994 coup, many survivors have made clear that financial compensation alone is not enough. For them, seeing that responsible face justice in a Gambian court remains the priority.
Jammeh, now 60 and believed to be living in exile in Equatorial Guinea, refused to cooperate with the TRRC and only relinquished power after regional leaders deployed troops following his refusal to accept his shock election defeat in December 2016. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Hackett’s appointment is widely regarded as the most concrete move yet toward domestic accountability for one of West Africa’s darkest recent chapters.
Source: BBC
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