Mr Abubacarr tambedou

Abubacarr Marie Tambadou (born 12 December 1972), known as Ba Tambedou, is a Gambian politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General in President Adama Barrow's cabinet since 7 February 2017. He previously worked as a lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, serving as special assistant to the Prosecutor from 2012 to 2016.

Early life and education

Tambadou is the son of Alhaji Marie Tambadou and is the brother of Sherriff Tambadou. Tambadou was a student at Saint Augustine's High School in Banjul from 1987 to 1992. From 1994 to 1997, he studied an LLB in law at the University of Warwick, in the United Kingdom, and in 1999 was called to the bar as a barrister-at-law at Lincoln's Inn. From 2001 to 2002, he completed an LLM in international human rights law at SOAS, University of London.

Legal career

Tambadou first worked as a public prosecutor at the Gambian Ministry of Justice from 1997 to 1999, ensuring national prosecution of local crimes. He then worked as state counsel from 1999 to 2000, with supervisory responsibilities over public prosecutors. He then went into private legal practice, working at Sheriff M. Tambadou Law Chambers in Banjul from 2000 to 2003, with a particular focus on human rights law.

In 2003, he left the Gambia to work at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, as an associate legal officer, a position he held from 2003 to 2005. From 2005 to 2008, he worked as a trial attorney, where he was responsible for prosecuting violations of international human rights law in Rwanda. He secured the prosecution of four individuals, including former Rwandan army general Augustin Bizimungu. In 2008, he became an appeals counsel and handled a number of cases on appeal, including The Prosecutor vs Augustin Bizimungu and The Prosecutor vs Théoneste Bagosora. For a time, he acted as officer-in-charge in the absence of the senior appeals counsel. In 2012, he became special assistant to the prosecutor, a role that included drafting papers and policy, leading briefings, and acting as chief of staff for the prosecutor's immediate office. The prosecutor since 2003 has been former Gambian justice minister Hassan Bubacar Jallow. Tambadou left the court in 2016 after it closed.

Political career

Tambadou was announced as President of the Gambia Adama Barrow's choice for Minister of Justice and Attorney General. On 7 February 2017, he was sworn in at a ceremony at Kairaba Beach Hotel. Barrow praised him by saying "A justice system is very important in any society and if you have someone who is willing to work with the Gambian people and who is also good at it, therefore, the Gambia will surely have the best judicial system." Minister of Foreign Affairs Ousainou Darboe, a lawyer himself, said that Tambadou was "not new to the judicial system and very versatile in the area that he is assigned to oversee." The same day he held a meeting with all the staff at the Ministry of Justice.

Personal life

Tambadou can speak six languages: English, French, Wolof, Mandinka, Krio and Soninke.[2]