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By Seedy Jobe | Analysis and Context Added
The Victim Center, the primary organization representing survivors of former President Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year regime, has issued an urgent appeal to President Adama Barrow’s administration for a formal national apology and concrete action on reparations, highlighting what they describe as six years of government neglect since the Truth Commission concluded its work.
In a revealing interview on Kerr Fatou’s Grand Bantaba Program, National Coordinator Kebba Jome articulated the growing frustration among victims who have watched successive governments fail to implement the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) recommendations.
“The government has never given us even a dime since inception,” Jome stated unequivocally, drawing a stark contrast with international precedents. “While victim organizations in countries like Rwanda, South Africa, and Chile receive state support as part of national healing processes, we’ve been left to operate entirely on donor funding and our own limited resources.”
The organization’s struggle extends beyond financial support to fundamental recognition. Jome detailed multiple failed attempts to engage the presidency, including a specific commitment made during Barrow’s Meet With the People Tour that never materialized.
“We’ve tried to engage the president on numerous occasions through formal channels and personal appeals, but that again failed,” he explained. Jome attributed part of the challenge to political mischaracterization of their work. “There’s a misconception that the Victim Center has political affiliations, when in reality we represent victims across the political spectrum who suffered under the previous regime.”
The core demand remains clear: “What we want is for the president to come to the Victim Center and face the victims and make a national apology on behalf of the former government.” Jome emphasized the transformative power such an act would hold in The Gambia’s social context. “The moment the president comes and apologizes nationally, that will start the healing process. Gambians easily forgive each other, but forgiveness requires acknowledgment first.”
The financial dimension of the reparations process reveals complex international dimensions. Jome provided crucial context about the stalled $2 million from the sale of former President Jammeh’s mansion. “The American government made it categorically clear they will not give the money to the Government of The Gambia unless the reparation commission is established and given their account number,” he explained.
This international safeguard mechanism reflects donor concerns about transparency and direct benefit to victims. “The reparation commission was sworn in in April, and steps are now being taken to open a U.S. dollar account at the Central Bank,” Jome noted, indicating potential progress after years of delay.
The scale of need remains staggering. “Out of 2,600 documented cases, 1,009 were eligible for reparation,” Jome stated, putting human faces to the statistical reality. These cases represent individuals who suffered torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearance of loved ones, and other grave human rights violations during Jammeh’s rule from 1994 to 2017.
The Victim Center’s demands align with the TRRC’s final report, which recommended both individual reparations and collective healing measures. The continued delay in implementation raises questions about The Gambia’s commitment to transitional justice and whether the country risks repeating cycles of impunity that characterized its past.
As the political window for action narrows ahead of future elections, the Victim Center’s appeal represents not just a call for material support, but a test of The Gambia’s democratic maturity and its willingness to confront difficult historical truths for the sake of genuine national reconciliation.
The organization continues to urge immediate government action to address victims’ concerns and provide the necessary support for their rehabilitation and reparations, warning that further delay compounds the trauma of those who have already waited too long for justice.