Gambia Appoints First Special Prosecutor to Hunt Jammeh’s Human Rights Abuses.
In a historic move toward justice, The Gambia has named British barrister Martin Hackett as its first-ever special prosecutor to pursue those responsible for widespread human rights violations during the 22-year rule of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Hackett will lead a newly established office tasked with prosecuting crimes committed under a regime marked by enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and systemic repression. His appointment is seen as a pivotal step toward holding perpetrators accountable after decades of impunity.
The effort follows the work of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which documented abuses during Jammeh’s rule and, in its 2021 final report, identified those most responsible while recommending their prosecution. The Commission also called for reparations to victims, emphasising that justice must go beyond financial compensation.
Among the most notorious cases highlighted were the 2004 assassination of journalist Deyda Hydara and the killing of more than 50 mainly West African migrants, falsely accused of plotting a coup and executed by security forces. Some members of Jammeh’s infamous paramilitary unit, “The Junglers,” have already been convicted abroad under universal jurisdiction in countries such as Germany and the U.S.
Hackett brings extensive international experience, having worked with the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon and investigated war crimes in Kosovo. He will serve a four-year mandate, according to Attorney General Dawda Jallow, after being selected from a wide pool of candidates.
Jammeh, who went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after refusing to step down following his election loss in December 2016, has consistently denied wrongdoing. Regional intervention was required to enforce his exit, marking the end of a dictatorship that left lasting scars on Gambian society.
The move to appoint a special prosecutor signals a new era of domestic accountability, offering hope to victims and their families that justice, long delayed, may finally be served.
