Gambia appoints special prosecutor for Jammeh-era crimes

The Gambia on Wednesday appointed a special prosecutor nearly two years after creating the post to try crimes committed under the reign of brutal former strongman Yahya Jammeh.

During Jammeh’s rule from 1994 to 2017, some 240 to 250 people were killed by the state, according to a truth commission, which also found evidence of torture, kidnappings, witch hunts and other abuses.

The Ministry of Justice announced it had appointed British lawyer Martin Hackett to the post, whose background includes work with war crimes, genocide and counter terrorism matters, including at the United Nations.

Lawmakers and civil rights groups had criticised the slow pace of the appointment, which officials said was due to consultations and official procedure.

In April 2024, the Gambian parliament passed legislation to establish the Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) to prosecute cases identified by the commission and provide for a special court inside the country with the option of holding sittings in other jurisdictions.

The vacancy for the prosecutor position was officially announced in May 2025.

During his four-year renewable mandate, Hackett is expected to try to prosecute the 70 people recommended by the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) for crimes during the Jammeh era, according to the Ministry of Justice.

He will arrive in the country to start work before the end of the month.

“Martin Hackett brings serious credentials: complex war crimes prosecutions, command responsibility cases, work with victims of sexual violence. That experience matters enormously in a case like this”, said Reed Brody, an international war crimes prosecutor who works with Jammeh’s victims.

Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said that Hackett would be asked to submit annual reports to the president, National Assembly, the west African bloc ECOWAS and the Attorney General.

Following his 22-year rule marked by numerous human rights violations, Jammeh lost a presidential election in December 2016 to opposition leader Adama Barrow.

He fled the country in January 2017 for Equatorial Guinea, where he finally conceded, handed over power, and still lives in exile to this day.

The TRRC was set up later in 2017 to investigate crimes committed under his rule and heard chilling testimony from nearly 400 people.

In a report released in 2021, the commission recommended prosecuting the former president and 69 other alleged perpetrators.

In December 2024 ECOWAS backed the creation of a separate Special Tribunal for Gambia, a hybrid court established in partnership with The Gambia, to judge crimes committed during Jammeh’s dictatorship, although it has not so far been funded.

Hackett would be able to decide whether to try a case in The Gambia or before the ECOWAS tribunal when it is established, according to Brody.