By Awa Macalo
When The Gambia and the United States signed a bilateral agreement in September to return the proceeds from a Potomac mansion bought with stolen state funds, officials hailed it as a landmark victory for transitional justice.
But human rights advocates are asking an uncomfortable question: why is The Gambia receiving nearly $1 million less than former president Yahya Jammeh originally paid for the property?
In September 2010, Jammeh and his wife, Zineb Jammeh, embezzled $3.5 million to purchase a luxury mansion in Potomac, Maryland.
After Gambians voted Jammeh out of office in 2016, ending his 22-year rule, the new government established two commissions: the Janneh Commission to investigate the looting of state funds, and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to document human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, unlawful arrests and state-sponsored sexual violence.
Under US civil forfeiture laws, the US Department of Justice seized and sold the mansion. After legal fees, property maintenance and administrative costs were deducted, $2,507,911.73 was returned to The Gambia.
“There is no limit to justice, to accountability, and regardless of where you run to, where you steal from people and then build on, we can always return it back,” said Omar Saibou Camara, spokesperson for Gambia Against Looted Assets (GALA).
Who gets compensated?
The TRRC, established in December 2017, held two years of public hearings examining abuses committed between July 1994 and January 2017.
It identified more than 1,000 victims eligible for financial compensation and medical care.
In its final report to President Adama Barrow in November 2021, the TRRC recommended the creation of a permanent, independent body to oversee long-term reparations.
Under the new agreement, the $2.5 million will go directly into an independent Reparations Fund at the Central Bank of The Gambia, supporting victims and surviving families affected by extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture, unlawful detention and sexual violence.
“I believe this is going to support and help the reparations commission and other mechanisms put in place to ensure that justice is served and victims’ rights are restored, following 22 years of victimization and 10 years of waiting,” Camara said.
The missing million
For prominent human rights advocate Madi Jobarteh, founder of the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice, however, the figures raise serious questions.
“The country is receiving only $2.5 million for a property that was bought for $3.4 million. This is a loss of almost a million dollars,” Jobarteh said. “The property should indeed increase in value such that the country should receive more than $3.4 million.”
“Therefore I am concerned that there is not adequate transparency on the sale of this property and I call on both the governments of the US and the Gambia to provide more information about this issue. The country should not lose any money given that this property is situated in a posh area in Washington DC which should not fetch less than its original price.
“Even if legal fees and other costs are deducted, I am of the strong view that the Gambia should not receive anything less than $3.4 million,” he added.
For victims who have waited a decade since Jammeh’s fall, the $2.5 million represents a significant step towards reparations.
But advocates say greater transparency over the sale and the deductions made from the proceeds will be crucial in determining whether the recovery is ultimately seen as justice restored — or another financial loss for The Gambia.
