The TRRC White Paper is not an end in itself as according to the government, some of the evidence given at the TRRC are at stark variance with those to be presented in court.
Apart from two recommendations, the Gambia government has accepted all the 265 TRRC recommendations for prosecution and ban on holding public office.
But Justice minister Dawda Jallow told a news conference on Wednesday that a lot of ground needs to be covered in terms of building a cornerstone for the prosecution of certain cases.
He revealed that a special prosecution department will be set up to dig deeper into some of the cases recommended for prosecution by the TRRC.
“Our assessment reveals that some of the evidence ( adduced before TRRC) is completely different from the one to be presented in court,” he explained.
According to the justice minister, a special prosecutor will investigate whether a matter can be prosecuted.
He added that there are issues that the TRRC has fallen short of unraveling and that those pending matters must be dealt with before prosecutions.
Timeline for prosecution
Meanwhile, the Gambia government has not set itself any timeline for the implementation of the TRRC prosecution recommendations.
But Dawda Jallow said work has already begun on a prosecution framework.
“We are working on the framework and we want that done as soon as possible,” he added.
Solo Bojang & secret graves
One of Jammeh’s henchmen, Solo Bojang, is said to be of material importance to efforts in uncovering some of the graves containing some of the dictator’s victims.
The government said it’s looking for support to get the cooperation of Brigadier General Solo Bojang due to his vast knowledge of the location of the graves.
“We are looking for support. We need the required resources because the minimum these families deserve is closure,” stated the justice minister.
He underlined that exhumation is vital to the efforts of bringing closure to many families.
“The minimum the families deserve is closure. It’s the least government can do for them,” the attorney general explained.
Prosecution of Jammeh
Jammeh has been recommended for prosecution for myriad murder cases and other gross rights violations and the government vowed that he will have his day in court.
“Without doubt, he is going to face justice. Extradition or not, Jammeh will be prosecuted,” the justice minister vowed.
Aside from extradition, the government is also seeing an option in the invocation of the principle of Universal Jurisdiction for the trial of Jammeh and his confederates in heinous crimes.
