The Justice Minister made these remarks while responding to questions regarding the funding to prosecute the former president, and his Junglers.
On the 8th of April 2026, the Attorney General announced Mr. Martin Hackett, as the special prosecutor for the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during former President Yahya Jammeh’s regime from July 1994 to January 2017.
The Special Prosecutor would lead the Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO), an independent body established to investigate and prosecute crimes committed during the era of former President Yahya Jammeh.
The office focuses on implementing the recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).
On the funding of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, Hon. Jallow revealed that he had a meeting with all the ambassadors that are accredited to the Gambia, as well as all development partners regarding the funding challenges of the Special Prosecutor’s Office. He said they are fully briefed about the situation.
The Justice Minister said the government is looking at getting the support. He further revealed that he is travelling to the UN headquarters in New York for a meeting with the Peace Building Fund, who are also very supportive.
“Currently they have allocated some resources and they are committed to allocating some a little bit more. We could serve as a catalyst to raise other funds. But you have UNDP seated among us here, who are a key partner in this as well. UNDP, in collaboration with the EU, is building the office for the Special Prosecutor,” he said.
Hon. Jallow said the EU and UNDP are not giving them the money, but they are going to build the head office of SPO.
On the issue of a forensic lab during the prosecution process of the former president and junglers, Hon. Jallow said it was prominent in his briefing with the Ambassadors and development partners.
“I have indicated very clearly that as a country we want to build a forensic capability out of this process. So in as much as some countries can assist in training our experts, for example, operating in a forensic lab, we need the lab itself in The Gambia,” he said.
The Justice Minister believes that if the country does not have the forensic institutional capacity, they will have to send forensics abroad for testing.
“You are aware that exhumations have happened since the time of TRRC. Human remains are still in the hospital. We still could not tell whose remains are who, because we do not have the domestic forensic capacity to do that identification,” he said.
Hon. Jallow said they have so many suspected burial sites that are going to be exhumed. He said when the exhumations happen they need a forensic capability to be able to do the identification. Beyond the TRRC, the Justice Minister said even for the normal regular criminal justice system, his ministry needs forensic capabilities.
The Justice Minister cited examples in the past where a simple murder case had to send the blood samples all the way to Ghana to have it examined and be sent back.
“And then if you want to present that evidence in court, that laboratory technician in Ghana who performed the test will have to come here, you put him in a hotel, take him to court. It is all cost. So really we are very committed at the end of this process to develop a domestic forensic capacity, both institutional and human capacity,” he stressed.
The Justice Minister said their invitation for partnership and support is both financial, technical and institutional. He said the response is positive, and they are very optimistic.
“The prosecutor, specifically on the budget, the $2.5 million annual budget is an extension that we developed with ECOWAS, the Joint Technical Committee. But the law requires the prosecutor himself, upon assuming office, to come up with his own budget. So he will develop the budget requirement that he thinks is appropriate,” he said.
