The 2019 Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, established by the government which investigated Jammeh’s human rights violations, accused the former leader of close to 200 unlawful killings, mainly carried out by members of a death squad called the Junglers. The Commission recommended Jammeh and other top officials to be tried for crimes against humanity. Jammeh has been living in self-imposed exile in Equatorial Guinea since he was voted out of office in 2016.
The Junglers were a unit within the State Guards, an elite team that guards the Gambian presidency, according to the Truth Commission whose findings were published in December 2021.
Gambian authorities hope to persuade Equatorial Guinea and other jurisdictions to extradite Jammeh and others who would face charges. Two Jammeh lieutenants who have been tried in Europe could also be tried on separate charges in a Gambian court. Authorities in a number of West African countries would like to see Jammeh tried for the murders of 59 West African migrants in Gambia in 2005.
“If the SPO (Special Prosecutor’s Office) believes that there is enough evidence, the SPO can charge Jammeh with crimes against humanity, and file that before the hybrid court and ask the court to issue an international arrest warrant,” said Abdoulie Fatty, Secretary General of the Gambia Bar Association, speaking on the significance of the passing of the two legal instruments. “This is not only for Jammeh, the court can issue an arrest warrant against any of the Junglers.”
