Civil society presses president Barrow to prosecute former dictator

Civil society organisations in The Gambia have urged the authorities to prosecute former dictator Yahya Jammeh ahead of a long-awaited government statement on the issue.

The government has until the 25th of May to decide on the reccommendations produced six months ago by a commission that investigated the former dictator.

According to the commission, between 240 and 250 people died at the hands of the state or its agents in the period between 1994 and 2017.

Civil society organisations want Yahya Jammeh and the 69 others named by the commission as alleged wrongdoers to be held accountable for their crimes.

President Adama Barrow, elected in 2016 and re-elected in December 2021, has so far not given any indication of his intentions.