The Gambia has appointed British barrister Martin Hackett as its first special prosecutor to lead the prosecution of human rights abuses committed dur
The Gambia has appointed British barrister Martin Hackett as its first special prosecutor to lead the prosecution of human rights abuses committed during the 22-year rule of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Hackett, who previously served at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon and investigated war crimes in Kosovo, was chosen from an international pool of candidates.
He will lead a newly established office with a four-year mandate to investigate and try individuals responsible for widespread repression, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.
This appointment follows recommendations from the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which documented nearly 250 state-sponsored killings and numerous other atrocities.
The TRRC’s 2021 report identified 70 individuals, including Jammeh himself, as those most responsible for these crimes and called for their prosecution.
While some perpetrators have already been convicted abroad under universal jurisdiction laws, Hackett’s role is seen as a critical step toward achieving domestic accountability within The Gambia.
Hackett will have the authority to decide whether cases should be tried before the newly created Criminal Division of the High Court or a proposed hybrid tribunal backed by the regional bloc ECOWAS.
Yahya Jammeh, who has lived in exile in Equatorial Guinea since 2017, continues to deny all wrongdoing and has refused to cooperate with Gambian authorities.
The government’s decision to move forward with a special prosecutor signals a renewed commitment to justice for victims who have waited nearly a decade for legal recourse.
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