By Sanna Camara
Over 1,000 victims have been designated for reparations by the TRRC. These include those who came forward to tell their stories to the TRRC, or those identified based on facts which indicate that they have suffered at the hands of the dictatorship, directly or indirectly. It has also been confirmed that over 178 victims have died so far. Yet the reparations money disbursed so far has been described many victims as “a drop in the ocean” compared to what it is expected to soothe them.
Even when the Ministry of Justice, in passing the Reparations Act, assured the legislators, that,“It is only fair that victims of human rights violations are considered and compensated for the wrongs they suffered and to equally ease their burdens, distress, and displeasure of a system that once was against them directly or otherwise.”
That message is best conveyed to victims like a single mum of eight, who received only D30,000 as reparations out of D500,000 allocated to her family. Since the TRRC submitted its report in 2020, these victims await their compensation for the loss of family land to Yahya Jammeh.
In a project, Consolidating Peace Through Transitional Justice Approaches in The Gambia, multiples of victims in Jambour, Jarra Soma, Sintet, and Kerr Mot Hali, some 36 in total, lacked knowledge of the reparations process or system. The study found families lacking complete knowledge of the TRRC and government reparations policies because they have never been consulted to begin with.
For the single mum, Sarjo, reparations were about paying education of her school-going kids to ensure a productive future for them. She rushed to the school to pay arrears for three of her kids. Just to return home with nothing. Meanwhile, she has been waiting for five years to receive the balance, while struggling with God-knows-what situation of her family in Foni.
Take for an example, daughter whose father was gunned down during April 2000 students protest when she was just six. She grew up looking forward to justice for her dad’s widow and her siblings one day. In early 2023, they were promised D600,000 by the TRRC but only received D96,000 – almost half of which went into settling her tuition fees arrears at the university.
“I do not really know my dad but I learned that he was a good person who was devoted to helping people. He was a good journalist too and a good listener to people,” said late Omar Barrow’s then 23-year-old daughter.
Fatou would join her dad last year – a few months to her formal graduation event for her first degree in journalism, leaving her mum in a fresh, heartbroken state. Their reparations money could come rather too late for this widow.
Like her, most of the beneficiaries of the said reparations found the amounts to be “a drop in the ocean”that did very little to ease their pressing need for family care, medical attention for illnesses that resulted from their victimisation, or for others like Sarjo, depriving them of a acres of prime family land that used to be main source of their income and support system.
Finalising the processes and procedures
“We are working on finalising different policies to guide the process,” said Mr Essa Coker, Executive Secretary, Victims reparations Commission – a post TTRC body established at the Ministry of Justice to handle the reparations of the victims.
TRRC identified 1,009 victims of whom some were given partial reparations. So, the focus would be on completing the outstanding payments, explained Mr Coker. Those numbers are not exclusive as so many victims did not turn up at the TRRC or at other victim bodies to share their suffering under the Jammeh rule.
“We will encourage victims to come forward. Yes, we will assess new applicants,” Coker said.
So far, an operational account has been opened with the Central Bank, Deputy Executive Secretary appointed effective 1st August 2025. Four positions (Finance & Admin, Procurement & Logistics, Investigator/Statement Taker and Victim Support Officer) were being advertised for recruitment for the Secretariat as we piece this together. We are currently working towards equipping and furnishing the Secretariat and having the support staff onboard to facilitate its operation.
“The issue of reparations for the victims has been one of the major concerns for this government,” Justice Minister Dawad A Jallow said, adding that the government is committed to “ensuring life-transforming reparations” are provided to victims of these human rights violations.
The Reparations Act also encompasses concerns of victims such as the single mum in Foni.Although, there are concerns that it might come late for so many. The fund will cover education, medical and psychosocial support as well as legal aid, and social services.
Even more strategic to the reparations is the systemic policy measures thatthis body will implement with government to help guarantee non-occurrence of any such atrocities. Institutionalreforms, the advancement of security sector reform, strengthening judicial independence, civil society, and victim-led organisations will all come into sharp focus through the implementation of the Reparations Act.
What’s keeping the Reparations
On 11 April 2025, the Commissioners of the Victims Reparations Commission were sworn-in. The Post TRRC Unit at the Ministry of Justice said that it has been coordinating and providing technical and administrative support to the Commission in the absence of its own secretariat.
The Unit, under the direction of the Commissioners, reportedly launched and oversaw the recruitment process for an Executive Secretary, who has since been appointed by the Commission and commenced work on 1 June 2025. Through the UN Peace Building Fund – not government money – the Unit secured a one-year rental of office space for the Commission in 2025, and continues to liaise with the UN and other partners regarding provision of basic office equipment, furniture and supplies.
According to the head of the unit, Ms Ida Persson, efforts are underway to ensure that the operational account of the Commission is created at the Central Bank of The Gambia through the Accountant General’s Department, and budget allocations are transferred to the Commission. Victims meanwhile are eagerly waiting to see how much funds will be provided to them by the government.
“The Accountant General Department has already facilitated the opening of the Reparations Fund accounts in GMD and USD at the Central Bank. As next steps, the Ministry of Justice will officially transmit the Fund account details to the United States Department of Justice,” said MsPersson, referring to the transfer of proceeds from the sale of the former President’s $3 million Potomac mansion in the US.
“These details will also be shared with the Ministry of Finance to facilitate the 2025 Fund budget allocation by the Government,” she said in an email response to our inquiry.
Like Ms Fatou O Barrow, who passed on almost the same age when her dad also died, the victims Centre is equally concerned that “a lot of victims are dying” while they continue waiting for much-needed reparations to ease their suffering. This one is a new wait, after a 22 years’ one to an end of a dictatorship. For justice. For compensation. For reparations.
The study conducted by Journalists for Justice on reparation in The Gambia in 2023 revealed that “most beneficiaries found the amounts to be a drop in the ocean.” The funds did not do much to ease the pressing needs of the victims.
“Although the victims understood that no amount of compensation could undo the harm they suffered, they expected the reparation to significantly alleviate their economic hardships,” the study further revealed.
From disappointment to desperation, the slow pace of these activities speak to the government prioritisation, of the need of the victims in its agenda. The political will, though echoed in all meeting halls from Banjul to Washington, Abuja to The Hague, will not mean much if these do not translate into resource allocations for such crucial endeavors as victims’ reparations.
That the fears of a poorly-planned and executed reparation programme would not repeat itself this time, after the enactment of legislation on reparations to guide the entire process through an independent, inclusive, victim-driven approach.
