{"id":12885,"date":"2026-02-20T10:59:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12885"},"modified":"2026-02-20T10:59:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:59:17","slug":"gambian-jammeh-era-victims-seek-real-justice-beyond-reparations-crimes-against-humanity-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12885","title":{"rendered":"Gambian Jammeh-era victims seek \u2018real justice\u2019 beyond reparations | Crimes Against Humanity News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Banjul, The Gambia \u2013<\/strong> Yusupha Mbye\u2019s mother pushes his wheelchair slowly across the tiled compound of their home in Kanifing, about 11km (seven miles) from The Gambia\u2019s capital, Banjul. The late-afternoon sun hangs low as she pauses to straighten a wrap over his legs, stopping briefly to catch her breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has been in this wheelchair since he was a teenager,\u201d she told Al Jazeera, wiping away tears. \u201cTwenty-six years later, I am still caring for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mbye, now 42, was just 17 when Gambian paramilitary officers opened fire on students protesting against police brutality in April 2000. At least 14 people were killed and scores were injured in one of the darkest episodes of former president Yahya Jammeh\u2019s 22-year rule.<\/p>\n

Mbye survived, but the bullet that struck him caused permanent damage to his spinal cord, leaving him unable to walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am depressed at this stage of my life,\u201d he told Al Jazeera, reflecting on how that single moment decades ago shapes and restricts his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot do anything for myself without the help of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mbye\u2019s father, who supported him for years, died in 2013. \u201cMy father wanted to see Jammeh face justice. He died without seeing that,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

Now, his ageing mother fears she too may pass away before the former government officials who are responsible for her son\u2019s injuries are held accountable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mother, it is painful to see your son in this condition,\u201d she said. \u201cI am afraid I might die without him seeing justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Yusupha\u2019s
Yusupha Mbye\u2019s photograph hangs on the wall of the Victims\u2019 Centre [Kaddy Jawo\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A country confronting its past<\/h2>\n

Yahya Jammeh ruled The Gambia from 1994 to 2017 after seizing power in a military coup. His government was later accused of widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence and enforced disappearances.<\/p>\n

After Jammeh fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea in 2017, The Gambia established the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate crimes committed during his rule.<\/p>\n

The commission documented thousands of violations, identified perpetrators and the crimes they committed, and issued far-reaching recommendations, including reparations for victims and criminal prosecutions.<\/p>\n

While some perpetrators have since been prosecuted, others are in prison awaiting trial, while some, like Jammeh, are outside the country and out of the reach of local courts.<\/p>\n

To implement the TRRC\u2019s recommendations on compensating victims, the government created the Reparations Commission, which last month began making payments for abuses committed between 1994 and 2017.<\/p>\n

Compensation is being issued in phases, starting with the earliest violations. The government has allocated 40 million dalasi (about $550,000) to fund the programme over five years.<\/p>\n

Badara Loum, the chairperson of the Reparations Commission, told Al Jazeera that reparations are a core part of The Gambia\u2019s transitional justice process.<\/p>\n

But for many survivors, money alone is not justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no real justice while Jammeh lives comfortably abroad,\u201d Mbye said.<\/p>\n

Victims say what they need is for those responsible to answer for their crimes.<\/p>\n

\"Gambia\"
A photo of Cadet Amadou Sillah, top left, hangs beside others on a wall displaying victims of Jammeh-era abuses [Kaddy Jawo\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Families living with loss<\/h2>\n

Mamudou Sillah and his family have spent decades waiting for justice.<\/p>\n

His brother, Cadet Amadou Sillah, was among nearly two dozen soldiers executed in November 1994 after being accused of plotting a coup against Jammeh. The TRRC eventually concluded that Amadou was not involved but had been made a scapegoat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty-two years later, our wounds are as fresh as if it happened yesterday,\u201d his brother told Al Jazeera, speaking at his home in Madiana, about 35km (21 miles) from Banjul.<\/p>\n

Amadou, who was 26 when he died, was the family\u2019s main breadwinner. Without his brother\u2019s support, Sillah was forced to abandon school and take on work at 17 to support the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was our hero,\u201d the now 53-year-old said. \u201cHe took care of everyone in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Amadou\u2019s execution, Sillah said his family faced harassment and social isolation from their community, forcing them to leave their village and relocate to Madiana.<\/p>\n

As part of the TRRC reparations process, the family has received 600,000 dalasi ($8,170) in payments and are among the first beneficiaries of the programme. But Sillah says the money does not replace accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, money is important,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what we really want is justice. We want Jammeh and everyone responsible for my brother\u2019s murder to face it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gambia\"
Yusupha Mbye has been in a wheelchair since he was a teenager, after he was shot by Jammeh\u2019s forces [Kaddy Jawo\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Compensation without closure<\/h2>\n

Mbye was among those who received monetary reparations in 2020 as part of an interim disbursement by the TRRC. He was awarded 19,000 dalasi ($259) but returned the money.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed medical treatment, not cash,\u201d he said. \u201cThat amount could not change anything for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the TRRC once sent him and four other injured survivors to Turkiye for medical treatment, but that programme ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo this day, I have not received the treatment I need,\u201d he said, explaining that he requires a spinal cord replacement procedure and backbone surgery.<\/p>\n

Mbye told Al Jazeera that when President Adama Barrow took office in 2017, he promised to cover their medical care.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe personally told us he would take care of our medical bills. Ten years later, we have heard nothing,\u201d Mbye said.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera reached out to the Gambian government to ask about the reparations and medical care for survivors, but they did not respond.<\/p>\n

Though Mbye returned his initial payment, he has since submitted his details to the Reparations Commission and is awaiting new compensation. He says all he needs is treatment to be able to walk again.<\/p>\n

\"Gambia\"
Nogoi Njie was among those who died after the end of Jammeh\u2019s reign, while waiting for justice and accountability [Kaddy Jawo\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When justice comes too late<\/h2>\n

As survivors wait for answers, some victims of Jammeh-era abuses never lived to receive reparations or see accountability.<\/p>\n

There were numerous political detentions during the previous administration. Though deaths in custody were not systematically documented, some prisoners \u2013 like prominent opposition figure Ebrima Solo Sandeng<\/a> \u2013 were killed. For those who were released, and their families, it has been a journey of recovery and a search for accountability.<\/p>\n

Femi Peters was a political activist jailed for organising a 2009 pro-democracy rally calling for electoral reforms under Jammeh\u2019s rule. At the time, Amnesty International campaigned for his release, warning that he was at risk of human rights abuses.<\/p>\n

Peters was released in 2010 and spent years after that awaiting justice. But he eventually died in 2018, under the new administration, still waiting. His son, Olufemi Peters, said the loss still shapes their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo amount of reparations will bring my father back,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cThe only closure is seeing those responsible held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, Nogoi Njie was arrested, tortured and imprisoned in 2016 after attending a peaceful protest against Jammeh\u2019s rule. She died in 2023.<\/p>\n

Her daughter, Isatou Ceesay, said the state\u2019s delays in holding Jammeh and others to account remain devastating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hurts deeply that my mother died without seeing justice,\u201d she said. \u201cJustice feels too slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than a dozen Jammeh-era victims have died while awaiting justice for the abuses they suffered, The Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations says.<\/p>\n

Chairperson Loum said next of kin are entitled to receive compensation on their behalf.<\/p>\n

\"Gambia''s
Gambia\u2019s former president in exile, Yahya Jammeh [File: Joe Penney\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Holding Jammeh accountable<\/h2>\n

Bringing Jammeh to justice remains a complex challenge.<\/p>\n

He has lived in exile in Equatorial Guinea since 2017, beyond the reach of Gambian courts. Not much is known about his life there, although he occasionally sends WhatsApp audio messages to his supporters at home.<\/p>\n

His political party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), continues to enjoy significant support. Although the former president does not have much political influence in The Gambia, a segment of society, especially in his home region, maintains that he committed no crimes and should be allowed to live freely.<\/p>\n

Still, momentum is slowly building to hold him to account.<\/p>\n

In 2024, The Gambia passed laws creating a Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office and Special Accountability Mechanisms. It aims to prosecute crimes identified by the TRRC and hold the main perpetrators to account, including Jammeh; Sanna Manjang, one of his enforcers responsible for much of the killing; Yankuba Touray, a former Jammeh ally who is already serving a life sentence; and others who remain at large in The Gambia, like the former vice president, Isatou Njie Saidy.<\/p>\n

With support from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the country is also establishing a hybrid Special Tribunal involving Gambian and international judges, which intends to try perpetrators of rights violations, including Jammeh, if he ever returns to The Gambia.<\/p>\n

Separately, international courts have acted. Switzerland sentenced former interior minister Ousman Sonko to 20 years in prison for torture and other crimes in 2023. Courts in Germany and the United States have also convicted former members of Jammeh\u2019s paramilitary unit, \u201cthe Junglers\u201d, such as Bai Lowe, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2022.<\/p>\n

Kebba Jome, head of The Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations, which provides psychosocial support and legal advocacy to victims, said the tribunal has renewed hope among survivors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful ECOWAS supported this initiative,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cVictims must remain at the heart of the justice process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founded in 2017, the centre has registered more than 1,500 victims. Photographs of many of them line its walls, a stark reminder of the country\u2019s past.<\/p>\n

Yet, Jome acknowledged that justice had already come too late for some.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deaths of victims waiting for accountability show how delayed justice can fail survivors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Human rights lawyer Imran Darboe also welcomed the start of reparations but warned they cannot replace justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompensation is welcome,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cBut without transparency, engagement and dignity, reparations risk becoming a transaction rather than a path to healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Darboe said accountability efforts are growing at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice may be slow,\u201d he said, \u201cbut Jammeh is surrounded by accountability mechanisms. Exile is not impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gambia\"
The Gambia is still recovering from 22 years of Yahya Jammeh\u2019s rule [Kaddy Jawo\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Still waiting<\/h2>\n

According to the Reparations Commission, the TRRC identified 1,009 victims eligible for reparations. Of these, 248 have been fully compensated, while 707 have received partial payments.<\/p>\n

Many families are still waiting, including those of the 54 West African migrants who were arrested in The Gambia on their way to Europe in 2005, and executed by Jammeh\u2019s Junglers.<\/p>\n

For Sillah, whose brother died as a result of false, unjust accusations, closure remains incomplete.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the government exhumed the remains of soldiers executed in 1994, including those of Amadou Sillah. But the remains are still being held in a Banjul morgue, pending use as evidence in future tribunal cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to bury our brother properly,\u201d Sillah told Al Jazeera, lamenting that even their mother died in 2024, still waiting. \u201cWe want closure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As The Gambia continues its fragile transition from dictatorship to democracy, survivors say the nation\u2019s struggle now is to confront its past before time runs out.<\/p>\n

Mbye sits quietly as his mother prepares to wheel him back inside as the cool evening sets in.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople keep saying justice is coming,\u201d he said softly. \u201cBut will it ever arrive?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Banjul, The Gambia \u2013 Yusupha Mbye\u2019s mother pushes his wheelchair slowly across the tiled compound of their home in Kanifing, about 11km (seven miles) from The Gambia\u2019s capital, Banjul. The late-afternoon sun hangs low as she pauses to straighten a wrap over his legs, stopping briefly to catch her breath. \u201cHe has been in this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}