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The Gambia has received US$2,573,414.10 from the United States following the forfeiture and sale of a luxury mansion linked to former President Yahya Jammeh in Potomac, Maryland.
The Gambia Reparations Commission said the money had been deposited at the Central Bank of The Gambia and would be used exclusively to compensate victims and survivors of abuses committed during Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
The transfer follows US legal proceedings to recover the property, which authorities linked to corruption and the diversion of Gambian public funds. The United States secured its forfeiture in 2022.
According to US authorities, the mansion was acquired through a trust established by Jammeh’s wife, Zineb Jammeh, using proceeds from embezzlement and bribes extracted from businesses.
Jammeh took power in a military coup in 1994 and remained in office until 2017, when he went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after losing the presidential election to Adama Barrow.
Investigations into his administration subsequently uncovered extensive financial misconduct. A Gambian commission of inquiry found that he controlled 281 properties within the country and more than 100 bank accounts, while misappropriating over US$300 million.
His government was also implicated in serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and rape. Investigations attributed an estimated 240 to 250 deaths to abuses during his tenure.
The recovery of the mansion’s proceeds follows advocacy by organizations including the Gambia Center for the Victims of Human Rights Violations, which urged US prosecutors to ensure the money reached those harmed under Jammeh’s rule.
The Barrow administration has said official auditors will oversee the use of the funds to support transparency and accountability in their distribution.
The payment adds financial support to The Gambia’s reparations efforts as survivors and victims’ families continue to seek redress for abuses committed under the former government.
Source: Omanghana
