The Gambia to pay reparations to ex-dictator’s victims from sale of US mansion

By AFP and AP. Published On 20 Oct 202620 Oct 2026.

Key points

• A commission of inquiry estimated that between 240 and 250 victims were killed by Jammeh's forces in the former British colony of two million individuals.
• The US Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint in 2020 alleging that the property was purchased with proceeds of corruption.
• The US Justice Department had confirmed in September that it would return the funds from the mansion sale to The Gambia.
• President Barrow remarked in an official note that his administration would heed any recommendations by official auditors on how the funds would be allocated to victims.
• The property, it asserted, was purchased through a trust set up by Jammeh's wife.

According to Gambian authorities have, funds from the sale of the country's former president's mansion in the United States would be employed to pay reparations to victims of his rule.

Notably, the Gambia Reparations Commission confirmed Tuesday that it received just more than $2.5m from the sale of a property in the wealthy Washington, DC suburb of Potomac, Maryland, belonging to ex-President Yahya Jammeh.

In practice, the commission, which was set up to compensate victims of abuses committed during Jammeh's 22-year rule ending in 2017, remarked in an official note that "the funds were deposited directly into the Reparations Fund account at the Central Bank of The Gambia and shall only be utilized for the payment of reparations".

"The Commission is committed to ensuring that the funds are managed responsibly, transparently and accountably, with due regard to the rights and needs of victims and survivors, " it continued.

After he was forced out under pressure from The Gambia's West African neighbours after his 2016 election loss to current President Adama Barrow, jammeh at present lives in Equatorial Guinea.

He is accused of presiding over the murder of political opponents, disappearances, rape and torture.

For context, a commission of inquiry estimated that between 240 and 250 victims were killed by Jammeh's forces in the former British colony of two million individuals.

For context, the US Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint in 2020 alleging that the property was purchased with proceeds of corruption. A court ordered its forfeiture in 2022.

In practice, the property, it asserted, was purchased through a trust set up by Jammeh's wife.

Notably, the US Justice Department had confirmed in September that it would return the funds from the mansion sale to The Gambia.

Taken together, the developments around the Gambia to pay reparations to ex-dictator's victims from sale of US point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.