Gambia Moves Toward Ending Death Penalty, Justice Minister Says

By Fatou Sillah

Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dawda A. Jallow has said the Gambia government is taking steps to abolish the death penalty, pointing to recent legislative reforms and a moratorium on executions that has been in place since 2017.

Speaking during a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly, Mr. Jallow said the government’s current policy is to eliminate capital punishment, although the death penalty remains part of Gambian law.

“The current policy position of this government is to abolish the death penalty, and we have taken steps towards this,” Mr. Jallow said. “We brought a revised criminal code and a procedure, and you agreed with us.”

Mr. Jallow cited the government’s introduction of the Criminal Offences Act and related procedural legislation as part of its efforts toward abolition.

He also distinguished between formally removing the death penalty from the law and maintaining a moratorium on executions. The government, he said, has observed such a moratorium since 2017.

Mr. Jallow noted that a moratorium is an executive policy rather than a permanent legal prohibition and could therefore be reversed by a future government depending on its position on capital punishment.

The minister’s remarks suggest that while executions remain suspended, permanently abolishing the death penalty would require completing the necessary legal reforms to remove capital punishment from Gambian law.