Gambia needs court for Jammeh-era crimes - president

Gambian President Adama Barrow has said that a special court will have to be formed to try people named in an inquiry report that looked into crimes committed under former ruler Yayha Jammeh.

Gambia's 1997 constitution does not have provisions, specifically prescribed, to prosecute crimes such as torture, enforced disappearances, and crimes against humanity.

The Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) found that some 250 people were murdered during Mr. Jammeh's rule between July 1994 and January 2017.

Responding to critics who alleged that he was shielding Mr. Jammeh and his alleged accomplishes, President Barrow said his government was working with relevant stakeholders and partners to establish a prosecution system to "impartially try those accused of crimes".

Speaking at a meeting between the executive and members of the legal profession, Salieu Taal, the president of the Gambia Bar Association, said Mr. Barrow's government was to blame for the legal crisis.

"The legal order of the previous dictatorial regime is still intact yet to be supplanted after six years of our transition from a dictatorship in 2017," he said.