By Biran Gaye
President Adama Barrow has vowed that his administration will commit funds annually to the Reparations Fund to support the victims of human rights violations committed by the Yahya Jammeh’s regime.
“Furthermore, we will support your efforts to mobilise additional resources, technical and financial, for the smooth operations of the Commission,” President Barrow said during the swearing-in ceremony of the Reparation Commission on Friday, April 11.
The Victims Reparations Commission, established under the Victims Reparations Act 2023 as an independent body, is responsible for managing and overseeing reparations for victims of human rights violations during Yahya Jammeh’s regime. Through the Reparations Fund, supported by government allocations and proceeds from Jammeh’s seized assets, the commission will provide financial compensation, healthcare, and psychosocial support to those affected by past abuses as a component of The Gambia’s transitional justice programme.
With the freeze of USAID funding by the Trump administration, there has been an increased need to mobilise resources for reparations for victims.
Even though the Barrow government has continually reiterated its commitment to providing reparations for both the victims and survivors of the human rights violations, much remains to be done in this regard.
“The issue of reparation remains one of my government’s highest priorities on our transitional justice programme,” he stresses, promising that his government will do its best to address the plights of the victims. “We strongly believe that reparation is a moral and legal obligation, based on the principles of justice and fairness.”
Acknowledging the crimes committed, President Barrow reassures “all the victims and survivors who have waited for too long to receive reparations that, on a brighter note, today marks another milestone in the dispensation of justice in The Gambia”.
However, international observers have commended the efforts of the Gambia government toward the transitional justice process, with victims – many of whom continue to nurse physical, psychological, and mental trauma from the alleged crimes of the regime of Yahya Jammeh –describing the process, particularly the reparations component, long overdue.
In an address to the National Assembly in March, 2025, Justice Minister Dawda A. Jallow confirmed that D20 million has been allocated in the 2025 national budget, coupled with the proceeds from the sale of Jammeh’s property in Potomac, USA, will be repatriated directly into the Victims’ Fund to fund the reparation efforts.
As frustrations over the slow process among victims and survivors grow, many call on the government to expedite the reparations for victims to address the harm and suffering endured by individuals and communities.
During a tree planting exercise marking the commemoration of April 10 and 11, 2000 students’ demonstration, Yusupha Mbye, a victim, recounts the tragic incident that saw the killing and injuring of dozen Gambian students.
“My life was destroyed on that day because I was going to school and my aim was to become a lawyer,” Mbye said in a depressed tone in an interview with QTV. “I didn’t graduate………….everything changed.
The physically challenged victim called on the Barrow administration to provide the much needed reparations to help rebuild their lives as well heal the wounds of the past.
As the commission sets to commence work, Mbye said: “Let us be given the priority we need, the health and the reparation.”
Many believe the reparation component of the transitional justice programme is critical for national healing as it helps to find closure for survivors and victims who still endure the traumatic experiences.
Emergency reparations
Meanwhile, the TRRC, through the reparations fund, had received US$1 million from the Government as part of monies reportedly recovered from sales of exiled Jammeh’s assets, although no further details were disclosed.
Part of this reparations fund had already been spent on emergency payments.
“The urgent interim reparations were needed for some people who were really sick and needed urgent medical attention,” recalls Adelaide Sosseh, the deputy chair of the TRRC who presides over the reparations committee.
These beneficiaries included torture victims, survivors of witch-hunting, those hit by Jammeh’s passing convoys and those affected by Jammeh’s hoax Aids treatment, among others.
The budget for those interim reparations was US$391,006 of which the Commission has spent up to US$254,154. According to figures shared by the Commission with the Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations – an NGO that brings together victims of Jammeh’s regime – US$215,053 was spent on patients sent to Turkey for treatment.
