In brief
The Gambia has pledged to use the proceeds from the US‑seized sale of former President Yahya Jammeh’s Maryland mansion to fund reparations for victims of his 20‑year dictatorship. The $2.57 million sale, secured in 2022 after the U.S. declared the property purchased with “criminal proceeds,” will be laid into a transparent reparations fund. The commission says the money will address the estimated 240–250 civilian lives lost to state abuses and help those who suffered disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings. Jammeh, who ruled after a 1994 coup and now lives in exile, amassed over $300 million in assets, far beyond his public salary.
The Gambian government announced that proceeds from the forced sale of former President Yahya Jammeh’s Maryland mansion will be directed into a reparations fund for victims of his 20‑year rule.
According to the country's Reparations Commission, the U.S. government seized the 27‑room estate in 2022 after determining it had been purchased with “criminal proceeds and misappropriated Gambian public funds.” The property was sold for £1.86 million ($2.5 million).
Vendors say the money, over $2.57 million, will be allocated to compensate survivors of disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other abuses that occurred after Jammeh seized power in a 1994 coup.
Jammeh, who presided over forced disappearances, torture, rape and accusations of state‑assisted killings, stepped down in 2017 amid international pressure and now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
The commissions report that Jammeh amassed a fortune that exceeded $300 million in assets—including 281 properties in the Gambia, a house in Morocco and more than 100 bank accounts—far beyond the income a public servant could earn.
Victims will be given “responsible and transparent” management of reparations “with due regard to the rights and needs of victims and survivors,” the commission said.
These funds aim to address the estimated 240–250 civil‑rights deaths attributed to the state during Jammeh’s era and to provide civil society with reparative justice for those who suffered under his regime.
