A Gambian court has sentenced a former spy chief and four others to death after finding them guilty of the 2016 murder of a political activist, AP reported.

Former director general of the defunct National Intelligence Agency, Yankuba Badjie, was convicted along with the other ex-intelligence officials for the murder of Ebrima Solo Sandeng.

Sandeng’s death contributed to the downfall of ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh, who had ruled this tiny West African nation for 22 years.

Sandeng, a leader of the opposition United Democratic Party, spearheaded a protest march in April 2016. The Jammeh regime arrested him and he was killed at the intelligence agency’s headquarters in Banjul, the capital. His death led to a groundswell of opposition that helped to bring about Jammeh’s ouster in presidential elections later that year.

The intelligence agency’s former operations chief, Sheikh Omar Jeng, along with officials Baboucarr Sallah, Masireh Tamba, and Lamin Darboe were also convicted and sentenced to death. The death sentences will be converted to life in prison, as Gambia has observed a moratorium on the death penalty since 2018.