Gambian authorities have said money from the sale of former president Yahya Jammeh’s US mansion will be used to compensate people harmed under his rule. The Gambia Reparations Commission confirmed on Tuesday that it had received slightly more than $2.5 million from the sale of the property in Potomac, Maryland, a wealthy suburb of Washington, DC.
Jammeh governed the country for 22 years until 2017. The commission, set up to compensate victims of abuses committed during that period, said in a statement that the money went straight into the Reparations Fund account at the Central Bank of The Gambia and can only be spent on reparations.
How the commission plans to manage the money
The commission said it was committed to handling the funds responsibly, transparently and accountably, with attention to the rights and needs of victims and survivors. President Adama Barrow said his government would follow any recommendations from official auditors on how the money should be allocated.
Jammeh’s exile and the allegations against him
Jammeh now lives in Equatorial Guinea, after he was forced out under pressure from West African neighbours following his 2016 election loss to Barrow. He is accused of presiding over the murder of political opponents, disappearances, rape and torture. A commission of inquiry estimated that 240 to 250 victims were killed by his forces in the former British colony of two million people.
US forfeiture case over the Maryland property
The US Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint in 2020, alleging the property was bought with proceeds of corruption, and a court ordered its forfeiture in 2022. The department asserted that the property was purchased through a trust set up by Jammeh’s wife. It had announced in September that it would return the mansion sale funds to The Gambia.
