According to the group of professional lawyers licensed to practice law in The Gambia, following through with this process will ensure that the rule of law prevails by bringing accountability and justice for the hundreds of victims who for years continue to yearn for closure.
The Ministry of Justice of The Gambia has revealed that there are 263 recommendations from the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that have been accepted by the government. It said that an implementation plan was developed in order to guide this process.
It will be implemented over three years, and it would typically have a budget of about of US$150 million, and our implementation plan of five years may be executed by December 2027.
“As of last year, May 2024, we have been informed that 16 out of the 263 recommendations have been fully implemented. 192 of the 263 recommendations are ongoing, and it's only 55 recommendations that have not commenced yet,” Ida Perrson, Special Advisor on Transitional Justice at the Ministry of Justice said at the Ministry’s interface with the public held on the 10 January 2024.
However, the Gambia Bar Associations maintains that time is of essence in this endeavour. On the occasion of the official Opening of the Legal Year 2024-2025 on Sunday, 9 February 2025, tens of members of the legal profession in the country gathered at the law courts complex in Banjul to reflect on the state of the rule of law, outline plans and discuss strategies to overcome challenges ahead. It was hosted by the Chief Justice of The Gambia, Hassan B. Jallow, and graced by President of the Republic, H.E. Adama Barrow.
“We recognise government’s efforts in securing the endorsement by the Authority of Heads of States of ECOWAS for the establishment of the international tribunal in December 2024 to try persons recommended for prosecution by the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).... When this [process] is followed through with the urgency it requires], true peace and reconciliation will inevitably follow,” the Bar Association president said at the opening of the Legal Year ceremony held at the High Court Complex on Sunday.
At this ceremony, the Bar Association President said their professional group of lawyers, through its members, have also been actively supporting the Ministry of Justice in the setting up of the Special Accountability Mechanism (SAM) - a support that it pledges to continue.
Such support includes public awareness raising campaign on the Special Accountability Mechanism to inform and update victims and the public of the steps being taken by the government to work towards implementation of the recommendations of the TRRC.
“Our members are part of the Joint Technical Committee set up to work on the creation of the statute to establish the International Tribunal. GBA has been able to support the ministry through support from Democracy International,” she revealed.
Former president of the Gambia, Yahya Jammeh has been found responsible and “must be held accountable for the assassination of more than 200 people in his 22-year rule” according to the TRRC Report submitted to Gambia government in December 2018.
Jammeh’s victims, according to the TRRC final report, range from people he perceived to be his security threats, political opponents, close associates he fell out with, ordinary citizens and journalists.
The Commission recommends that the former president be prosecuted for murders, unlawful killings as well as the crimes of rape, torture and enforced disappearances that he is found to have committed “directly and indirectly” while in power.
The Gambia government, through the Ministry of Justice, has succeeded in acquiring ECOWAS backing to set up a special tribunal for The Gambia, to prosecute persons adversely mentioned in the report. These killings include over 50 West African nationals, majority of them from Ghana.
