By Patience Loum
In 2017, the Gambia Government launched the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate the human rights violations of the 22-year-long regime of former President Yahya Jammeh. After three years of investigations, the commission finalized and submitted its report to the Gambia Government addressing the forms of injustice committed under the former President’s regime and recommending the appropriate action for perpetrators and options for prosecution.
After the final report was published it became clear that former President Yahya Jammeh and his accomplices were found as bearing the most responsibility for human rights violations orchestrated under his watch.
The public, particularly victims’, expectations remain high that the final recommendations of the TRRC addresses their needs and will be implemented by the Government in a timely and comprehensive manner, to achieve justice, including gender justice, promote national reconciliation and sustainable peace in The Gambia.
An article published last month featured all the options for prosecution recommended by the TRRC and the Government’s preferred options to pursue prosecution of perpetrators. Below is a link to the entire publication for more information.
TRRC: Options to Prosecute Perpetrators Bearing the Most Responsibility
In summary, out of the four options put forward by the TRRC, the Government decided to pursue options A, B and C which can be grouped into two categories. Options A and B are both domestic with option A utilising local laws only while option B utilises international laws in the Gambia. Meanwhile, Option C which is also preferred to prosecute individuals outside the Gambia using international laws.
VICTIM PREFERENCES FOR PROSECUTION
Jammeh 2 Justice
On 8th June 2022, the Jammeh to Justice (J2J) Campaign held a press conference at the Sir Dawda Jawara International Conference Center urging the Gambia Government “to take concrete steps to bring former president Yahya Jammeh and his alleged accomplices to justice”.
The J2J Coalition is a group of international and local TRRC victims that have suffered under the Jammeh Regime such as the 44 West African migrants killed in 2005 and the family of the late Solo Sandeng amongst others.
One of the J2J advocates, International human rights lawyer Reed Brody, known popularly as the Dictator Hunter believes that “a request coming from an ECOWAS-backed court would be very difficult to refuse, but the initiative to create such a court and the impetus for such regional backing has to come from the Gambia Government”.
Mr Brody highlighted that “introducing a hybrid court would help introduce international criminal laws of principles not just [for] crimes against humanity but also [to implement] principles like the principle of command and responsibility”. Referencing international law, Mr Brody highlights that the person in command must be held responsible if their subordinates commit crimes and they do nothing to prevent, stop, or punish those crimes.
“A hybrid court can allow victim participation in trials. In the Gambian system, with many other systems, victims have no right tp participate in trials and introducing this system totally changes the nature of the prosecution,” said the Dictator Hunter.
Lawyer Brody concluded that progressing prosecution with the ECOWAS will give the court much power to extradite former President and Dictator Yahya Jammeh. “Many ECOWAS citizens have been killed in the Gambia and a court that includes Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and other countries who lost citizens here in the Gambia will give the court much-enabled power and reach”.
Victim’s Center
Sheriff Kijera, the Chairperson of the Victims Center believes that the process of prosecuting perpetrators is going to demand time, energy and resources. “What is important is to have a system that is going to guarantee all due processes for the alleged perpetrators as well,” said the Victim Representative.
The Victim Center is the officially recognised Institution which helps to mobilise victims identified in the TRRC Proceedings. Chairperson Kijera says there is a need to establish public confidence in whatever accountability mechanism that is going to be in place is key.
According to Mr Kijera “what is important is to have a system that is competent, that is very fair and that is going to take on board the victims to be part of the process”. To achieve this the Victim Center Chairperson believes there must be a collective national effort to make sure we have a successful post-TRRC accountability mechanism in place.
Although, our reporter requested to know which method of prosecution is preferred the Victim Center Chairperson responded to highlight that whichever method of prosecution(s) is adopted by the Government must be collaborative and provide for the inclusion of victims’ participation in the process.
CSO White paper on prosecutions
A joint Civil Society Organizations White on the TRRC which acts as a shadow report for the Government notes that “Mindful of several factors that could negatively impact how any prosecutions would be carried out in the Gambia, an international process is recommended“. The White Paper was issued on 6th May 2022 and submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
The White Paper notes that “several stakeholder consultations [have been] held about the prosecution of Jammeh, and other perpetrators have found consensus in favour of a hybrid court which will be premised on the participation of both local and international personnel/judges and legal frameworks tailored for such trials to be augmented by international laws that befit the crimes”.
The CSO Shadow White Paper adds that “victims called for the support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other countries whose citizens were killed under Jammeh to join The Gambia in pressing for his prosecution”.
Conclusion
Having engaged victims locally through the Victims Center Chairperson and internationally through the J2J Coalition, it can be seen that their preference for prosecution is Option C which calls for prosecution in another neighbouring West African country using international laws. This is premised on the fact that the Gambia is yet to pass the appropriate legislation to prosecute perpetrators for crimes like torture amongst others. Finally, it’s important to note that both the J2J and the Victim Center have called for the Government to ensure victims’ participation regardless of the prosecution option it decides to adopt.
This article is published with support from the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).