Gambia’s Truth Commission Recommends Prosecutions

Those who bear the greatest responsibility for the crimes committed during the presidency of Yahya Jammeh in The Gambia should be prosecuted, according to head of a commission that has been looking into the events that took place during his 22-year rule.

He stepped down from the presidency in 2017.

Lamin Sise has just handed over a 17-volume report to President Adama Barrow. This was the result of months of hearings at the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).

Mr Sise did not name those who should face justice but in a statement the commission said: “To forgive and forget with impunity the violations and abuses… would not only undermine reconciliation but would also constitute a massive and egregious cover-up of the crimes committed”.

The findings have not yet been made public and the presidency now has six months to respond.

Some 250 Gambians and foreign nationals died because of human rights violations under Mr Jammeh’s rule.

During the TRRC hearings, nearly 400 witnesses gave chilling accounts of alleged state-sponsored torture, rape, and enforced disappearances.

The handing over of the report comes just days before the country goes to the polls in its first post-Jammeh presidential election.