The Gambia to compensate Yahya Jammeh victims using seized US mansion proceeds

The Gambia Reparations Commission has announced it received $2,573,414.10 from the sale of a Maryland mansion formerly owned by former president Yahya Jammeh. The funds, recovered through US authorities, will be used to compensate victims and survivors of Jammeh’s two-decade rule.

In 2022, the United States secured the right to sell the property after determining it was acquired using “criminal proceeds and misappropriated Gambian public funds”. Jammeh, who took power in a 1994 coup, was accused of presiding over widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and forced disappearances. A commission of inquiry estimated that between 240 and 250 people died at the hands of state agents during his administration.

Jammeh stepped down in 2017 following the 2016 election and subsequent regional military pressure, eventually entering exile in Equatorial Guinea. A national commission previously found that Jammeh controlled over 100 bank accounts and owned hundreds of properties, concluding he had misappropriated more than $300 million.