Truth commission planned

The Gambia has confirmed that it will set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and offer reparations to victims of former President Yahya Jammeh's government. Voice of America reports that Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou said the government will also probe the finances of Jammeh, who fled into exile in January to Equatorial Guinea. Since his departure, Adama Barrow's government has taken steps to restore the rule of law and strengthen the judiciary. ‘A Truth and Reconciliation Commission with appropriate reparations for victims will be set up within the next six months and public hearings will be expected to commence by the end of the year,’ Tambadou said, according to the report. The government would first study other such commissions. South Africa established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid ended in 1994, and other African countries have set up similar bodies.