By Yankuba Jallow, Justice correspondent
In one of its first moves the Trump administration has frozen all government assistance programs across the world for 90 days. Though much remains unclear, the new administration has indicated most of those programs – funded by USAID and the State Department – will be shuttered. The Gambia is not immune.
The US spent $35.9m in aid in The Gambia in 2023, the most recent year with complete records, according to the US Government’s American government foreign assistance website, making it one of the largest donors to the country. Critics say less than 10 percent of that funding actually makes it to local partners but in low income countries even that amount will be felt.
Experts said the upcoming hybrid court to try accused perpetrations from the regime of former president Yahya Jammeh could be heavily impacted. The Office of Global Crimes under the State Department had already allocated funding to some organizations to support the court. Those programs have been suspended. The US-based Center for Justice and Accountability was one recipient organization that notified partners this week that some of its work had been paused.
The decision to cut aid will likely need to be approved by Congress but should the Trump administration succeed in slashing USAID and State Department funding long term, it could have big impacts for The Gambia’s transitional justice program, especially as it comes at a time when European donors are also cutting funding.
Earlier this week, Dawda A. Jallow, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, told the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva during the Universal Periodic Review that he expected the Gambian court to cost $US60m.
“We call on the international community to support our transitional justice efforts, particularly through funding the Special Tribunal and strengthening victims’ reparations programs,” said Mr Jallow.
Experts say that was always going to be difficult to raise that sort of money. But it might be impossible now.
The US has been a big funder of courts in Africa in the last decade including the Special Tribunal that tried former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre in Senegal in 2015 and the ongoing Special Court for the Central African Republic. The Habre trial raised $11m. The Central African Court has been operating on about $14-15 per year in the last two years. The US has been a major funder of both courts.
The Gambian government has already allocated substantial funds to the transitional justice process itself. Experts say that commitment is an important step to helping win donors’ support. In December the National Assembly passed the 2025 budget allocating 205m dalasi or $2.8m to the Ministry of Justice for 2025. From that government allocated 20m dalasi or $275,000 for the Special Prosecutor’s Office, an independent body that responsible for investigating and preparing cases. The Special Prosecutor will decide who is to be tried and the nature of the charges. The minister said the Prosecutor’s Office will become operational by June 2025.
The Gambia’s overall transitional justice process is expected to include at least 304 activities, which will cost about $150m according to Ida Persson, the Special Advisor to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice on Transitional Justice. There are 59 implementing institutions. The implementation plan has a five-year timeline to end in 2027. The implementation phase has four components – reparations, justice and accountability, reconciliation, and legislative and institutional reforms.
The government said it is confident it can meet the deadlines.
“With a five-year mandate to ensure that all 263 recommendations approved by the Government are realized, we must work diligently and swiftly, for time is of the essence,” said Dr Momodou Tangara, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, at December’s review of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission’s recommendation implementation.
In 2017 The Gambia embarked on an ambitious project to investigate past human rights violations committed during the 22-year regime of former President Yahya Jammeh to bring justice and accountability. The Truth Commission was established by the National Assembly to investigate and provide a full and impartial record of past human rights violations. The work was done within two and a half years and the report was presented to the President of the Gambia in November 2021 with 265 recommendations. After six months, the government came up with a white paper accepting 263 recommendations and rejecting two.
The government has fully implemented 16 recommendations while 192 recommendations are being implemented, according to the National Human Rights Commission, a body mandated to monitor the government’s implementation of the recommendations. 55 recommendations have not yet commenced.
Mr Jammeh, now in exile in Equatorial Guinea, must be held accountable for the assassination of at least 240 people as well as the murders of 69 people and related offences committed under his command during his 22-year rule, recommended the Truth Commission report.
There are three main areas for the prosecution of cases: the Special Tribunal, the Special Criminal Division of the High Court (a domestic court) and the Special Prosecutor’s Office, said Minister Jallow.
The Special Tribunal will be established to try cases of an international nature, while the Special Criminal Division will hear cases using Gambian laws.
The Special Tribunal for the Gambia will function as an independent institution that incorporates both national and international law. It will have a wide-ranging jurisdiction over international crimes as well as serious violations under Gambian law. Its headquarters will be in The Gambia, but it will also have the capacity to hold proceedings in third countries if necessary. That could mean alleged perpetrators hiding outside the Gambia, including Mr. Jammeh, could face trial in other countries.
Reparations May Also Be Hit By US Cuts
Section 152 of the Gambian Constitution accords the National Assembly’s power to approve every spending that the Government makes, including all spending relating to transitional justice.
The Gambia passed a Victim’s Reparations Act meant to establish funds for the provision of reparations for victims. The Act created the Reparation Fund to finance reparations. The sources of money for the fund, according to the Act, shall be monies appropriated by the National Assembly, the proceeds of the sale of assets of the former president, grants and donations.
The 2025 budget set aside 30m dalasi, equivalent to $413,000, for the Victim Reparations Commission. From this amount, 20m dalasi, or $275,000, will be used as support for victims. In 2024 there was an allocation of 60m dalasi equivalent to $827,000. The government has committed to give $2.5m proceeds from the sales of the former President’s house in the United States victims.
In December the National Assemply approved appointments of the seven commissioners to serve in the Victims Reparation Commission to oversee the reparations, including two victim representatives, two youth representatives and one from a disability organization. The 5 year life span of the commission may be extended by the president.
Isatou Jammeh, a niece of former President Yahya Jammeh, is one of the commissioners in the Reparations Commission representing the victims. Her father was allegedly killed by Jammeh’s hit squad. Dr Badara Loum is the Chairperson of the Commission.
In December 2023, the government also allocated 10m dalasi, equivalent to $137,931, as medical support to victims. The Ministry of Health set up a Medical Board to provide victims with medical support, according to Ms Persson. At least 100 victims have received medical support from there.
Experts said the future of US aid funding will become more clear in coming weeks as Congress weighs in and law suits begin to make their way through the courts.
There is uncertainty over U.S. funding as Trump rescinds aid freeze. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, emailed the following statement after the retraction of the funding memo:
“In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage. The executive orders issued by the president on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments. This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the president’s orders on controlling federal spending. In the coming weeks and months, more executive action will continue to end the egregious waste of federal funding.”
The statement Karoline will mean the relief is likely short term. The administration looks like it plans to do all it can to cut large parts of govt spending.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
