The Gambia removes death penalty from criminal statutes

The Gambia has removed the death penalty from its criminal statutes, according to Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dawda A. Jallow. During a session at the National Assembly, Jallow clarified that because the punishment has been repealed from the Criminal Code and is no longer listed in the Criminal Penalties Act, courts can no longer impose death sentences.

However, capital punishment remains written into the 1997 Constitution. Jallow noted that while the constitutional provision exists, in practice it cannot be applied to subject any person to the death penalty under current criminal law. Complete abolition would require further parliamentary action to amend the Constitution.

The current policy follows a 2018 presidential memorandum that imposed a moratorium on executions and commuted existing death sentences to life imprisonment.