D3 Million Fine Proposed for ‘Aggravated Migrant Smuggling’ Under New Immigration Bill

Interior Minister Hon Abdoulie Sanyang © The Gambia National Assembly

By Edward Dalliah, Jr.

The Gambia could soon impose a minimum fine of D3 million on individuals convicted of “aggravated migrant smuggling,” as lawmakers continue scrutinising the proposed Immigration Bill 2026, which seeks to criminalise migrant smuggling for the first time in the country’s history.

The Bill which is now committed to the Parliamentary Business Committee for referral to the relevant committee, marks a significant shift in the country’s approach to irregular migration by introducing specific offences targeting migrant smuggling networks.

This move seeks to address a long-standing legal gap that authorities say has hampered efforts to prosecute smugglers.

The development comes months after Inspector Alkali Jammeh, Lead Investigator at the Migration Unit of the Gambia Immigration Department (GID), revealed at a youth event on migration that migrant smuggling is not currently a criminal offence under Gambian law.

 According to him, while authorities have been able to pursue some related offences, the absence of a specific law criminalising migrant smuggling has limited prosecutions against those organising and facilitating irregular migration.

If enacted, the Bill would become the first law in The Gambia to specifically criminalise migrant smuggling and related offences. Moving the motion for its second reading on Tuesday, 16th June 2026, Interior Minister Hon. Abdoulie Sanyang told lawmakers that the proposed legislation forms part of the government’s wider security sector reform agenda.

He noted that the objective of “the Bill is to give effect to the security sector reform agenda of the Government of The Gambia and also to repeal the Immigration Act of 1965 and replace it with an Act that is in line with international best practices.”

Under section 112(2) of the proposed legislation, individuals convicted of migrant smuggling would face severe consequences which include a fine of D1 million and a prison sentence of at least five years or both.

The Bill further criminalises the production, procurement, possession or use of fraudulent travel or identity documents intended to facilitate migrant smuggling.

Beyond creating the offence of migrant smuggling, the Bill introduces the more serious offence of aggravated migrant smuggling, targeting conduct that places migrants at greater risk of harm.

In section 113 of the Bill, aggravated migrant smuggling occurs when the offence ‘endangers the life or safety of migrants, subjects them to torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, or results in serious injury or death.’

Anyone convicted of aggravated migrant smuggling would face a fine of not less than D3 million and imprisonment for a term of not less than five years or both.

The Bill also provides protection for smuggled migrants. Section 129 states that “a smuggled migrant is excluded from liability on account of his or her smuggling,” meaning individuals who are smuggled would not themselves be prosecuted merely for being the object of the smuggling offence.

If approved by the National Assembly, the legislation would represent a landmark change in the country's migration laws, giving authorities a dedicated legal framework to investigate and prosecute migrant smuggling, an activity long associated with the dangerous “backway” journeys undertaken by many Gambians and other migrants seeking to reach Europe.