Former president Yahya Jammeh, who is currently living in exile in Equatorial Guinea, may face a face-to-face trial before the Ecowas hybrid court, according to Justice Minister Dawda Jallow’s indications.

In order to punish Jammeh and other people who committed egregious human rights violations in The Gambia between July 1994 and January 2017, The Gambia is collaborating with Ecowas to establish a hybrid tribunal.
A joint technical committee was formally inaugurated yesterday to work on legal frameworks, a funding plan, ratification and implementation plans for the establishment of an internationalised court. The committee is made up of representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Ecowas Court, Gambia Bar Association, the judiciary, and victim-led organisations.

As there is no extradition agreement between Banjul and Malabo, Justice Minister Jallow addressed questions about whether Jammeh will stand trial in absentia by stating, “These kinds of trials have not happened in absentia.” Jammeh will face a trial in person. in his presence. Although Equatorial Guinea and we do not have an extradition treaty, I am confident that we will know how to cross the bridge when we get there. This will be an international court, and after it is established, it will belong to all of us. Our partner, Ecowas, is an organisation with 16 to 15 member states. Hence, an extradition pact with any member state will suffice, but until we get there, there might be additional options to bring him [Jammeh] to justice. Right now, our main priorities are determining where we will take him, how we will get there, and what questions we will be answering.
The committee has eighteen weeks to finish its assignment. We will begin recruiting and sourcing the specialists who will staff the court after the legal framework, implementation strategy, and funding have been established. A trial chamber and an appeals chamber will comprise the court, he clarified.
He did not, however, answer when the court will be fully operational to try cases involving crimes committed during the Jammeh era.

“We want to deliver as soon as possible, and we are committed.” We don’t want to set unreasonably high standards or prioritise expediency over justice. He said, “You don’t want to charge someone, arraign them, and then have them get off light and be released due to your poor planning.

According to Miatta Lily French, the resident representative of Ecowas in The Gambia, the hybrid court will have jurisdiction over offences that fall outside the purview of Gambian law as well as international crimes.

According to her, the court will have its headquarters in The Gambia and may relocate its operations, if necessary, to a third nation.
According to Ambassador Miatta, “victims who may have been impacted by violations but were unable to tell their stories will find some solace in the trials knowing that justice has been served on their behalf.”

Priscilla Yagu Ceesay, a representative of victims’ associations at the Gambia-Ecowas joint committee, stated that victims applauded the move since it will speed up the prosecution of offences for which there are no provisions under Gambian law.

Nonetheless, she emphasised how important it is to keep the victims’ voices front and centre throughout the procedures.