The ECOWAS Court of Justice has adopted as a consent judgment an amicable settlement between the Government of The Gambia and eight relatives of Mahawa Cham, a former parliamentarian who disappeared and was unlawfully killed during the rule of Yahya Jammeh.
The judgment, issued in the case of Binta Jarju, Isatou Fatty, Lamin Cham, Bakary Cham, Fatou Cham, Kaddy Cham, Omar Cham and Limam Cham v. The Republic of The Gambia (ECW/CCJ/APP/11/24), formalizes commitments on investigation, prosecution, compensation and the return of Cham’s remains. The plaintiffs were represented by the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), working with the African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearance (ANEKED).
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) concluded in its 25 November 2021 report that Cham had been unlawfully disappeared and killed, and recommended that those responsible be prosecuted. The government accepted those findings in its official White Paper on the TRRC’s recommendations.
Reached under Article 72 of the ECOWAS Court’s rules, the settlement requires the government to investigate and prosecute the disappearance and killing in line with its obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, within one year of the settlement date. The parties have already agreed on a compensation figure, which the court has approved.
The government has further committed to exhume and surrender Cham’s remains to the family and to pursue the case against all alleged perpetrators to a conclusion. It has also undertaken to strengthen transitional-justice bodies, including the Victims Reparations Commission and the National Human Rights Commission, by improving their visibility and accessibility, and to reinforce existing measures to hold accountable those responsible for abuses committed between July 1994 and January 2017.
Lamin Cham, one of Mahawa Cham’s sons, said their father’s long absence had caused lasting hardship. “Nobody can pay for a soul, but reparation can go a long way towards addressing some of the major hardships we have faced,” he said. “We hope this settlement brings closure to our family, and gives hope to other families still waiting for justice. We also plead with the Government of The Gambia to take steps against the perpetrators and hold them accountable.”
Awa Gai, legal representative for IHRDA, noted that the court remains seized of the matter until the government fully implements the agreement. “Full and timely implementation is now critical to ensuring that justice is not only promised, but delivered,” she said.
Sirra Ndow, ANEKED’s Gambia country director, described the outcome as significant for the Cham family and for other victims of gross human rights violations. She urged the government to accelerate implementation of the TRRC recommendations so that justice, reparations, accountability and guarantees of non-recurrence become realities.
IHRDA and ANEKED said they will continue to monitor the consent judgment and engage authorities to support full and timely implementation of the commitments.
