The Gambia has moved to confront its troubled past by appointing a British legal expert to spearhead prosecutions linked to alleged abuses during the rule of former president Yahya Jammeh.
Martin Hackett will take up the role of special prosecutor, leading efforts to bring to trial individuals accused of committing violations over the 22 years Jammeh was in power before his exit in 2017.
Hackett will oversee a newly established office set up to handle cases arising from that period, which has been widely associated with fear, disappearances and unlawful killings. His task will be to guide prosecutions against those identified as bearing the greatest responsibility.
The process follows findings by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, which was formed to examine abuses linked to Jammeh’s leadership. In a report submitted in 2021 to President Adama Barrow, the commission listed suspects and called for legal action against them.
Through public hearings, the TRRC collected accounts from victims, former security personnel and other witnesses, many of whom described painful experiences. The commission also urged the state to compensate those affected, cautioning that failure to act would allow wrongdoing to go unpunished.
Authorities have already begun issuing compensation in stages, starting with victims affected in the early years following the 1994 coup that brought Jammeh to power. Even so, many survivors continue to press for justice, saying accountability matters more than financial support.
Among the cases raised were the 2004 killing of journalist Deyda Hydara and the deaths of more than 50 West African migrants, who were killed by security officers after being wrongly accused of planning a coup.
Some suspects have already been prosecuted outside The Gambia using universal jurisdiction laws. Former members of the feared paramilitary unit known as the Junglers are among those convicted in Germany and the United States.
Hackett’s background includes work at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon as well as investigations into crimes committed during the Kosovo conflict. His appointment is viewed as a key moment in shifting the push for justice to local courts.
Attorney General Dawda Jallow said Hackett was picked from a wide pool of candidates and will serve a four-year term.
Jammeh, now aged 60, has denied any involvement in wrongdoing and declined to cooperate with the TRRC. He stepped down after pressure from regional leaders, who sent troops into the country when he refused to accept defeat in the December 2016 election. He is believed to be living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
