In their final report released Friday, the Gambia Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) called for the prosecution of former President Yahya Jammeh and co-perpetrators for 44 cases of murder, torture, and rape. The TRRC was established to investigate crimes committed in Gambia under the leadership of Jammeh from 1994 to 2017.

The commission’s report resulted from a three-year-long investigation during which almost 400 witnesses’ testimonies were collected. The report found that Jammeh was responsible for the rape and sexual abuse of Fatou Jallow and two protected TRRC witnesses. In addition to the same, the report also found Jammeh responsible for the death of Deyda Hydara along with other journalists, demonstrators, and political opponents, the death of 41 HIV patients who passed away due to the fake treatment program, and numerous others. Hydara was a prominent Gambian journalist, the co-founder of the Point, and a correspondent for Agence France-Press and Reporters Without Borders for over 30 years, who was shot in 2004.

The report found that Jammeh and his co-perpetrators ought to be tried before a court. Owing to the fact that the crimes committed include unlawful killing, sexual violence, torture, forced disappearance, persecutions including through arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions and since the victims were not only Gambian nationals, the report discussed options such as a hybrid Gambian-international court suitable for persecution.

In his presentation of the final report of the TRRC, Minister of Justice Dawda Jallow said that the government was committed to the implementation of the report and that they will be creating a White Paper for the successful implementation of the same by May 25, 2022.