Africa-Press – Gambia. Abdoulie Colley, the current Registrar General of The Gambia and former acting Registrar General, has told the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee investigating the sale of former president Yahya Jammeh’s assets that he was unaware of several transactions carried out by the Janneh Commission during his tenure.
Appearing before the committee on Thursday, Mr. Colley testified under questioning from Counsel Aji Sainey Kah that, despite being in office at the Ministry of Justice at the time, he was not informed of the sales of certain assets that fell under the custody of the Registrar General.
“Mr. Colley, are you aware that the commission, at some point, conducted sales of assets that were under the custody and control of the registrar general?” Counsel Kah asked.
“No, I was not aware,” he replied.
Counsel Kah further asked the witness whether he was aware that the commission had conducted sales of certain assets.
The witness replied that at the time he had no knowledge of such sales but later became aware, as it eventually became public knowledge.
“In January 2019, the commission conducted sales of certain assets. Were you aware?” Counsel Kah pressed.
“No, I was not aware,” the witness responded.
Counsel then questioned the witness on his lack of awareness regarding the sale of some commission assets.
“Formally, I was aware of it when we convened a meeting at the ministry,” the witness said.
He explained that the meeting was held after the National Assembly passed a resolution calling for investigations. He acknowledged being aware of the sale of cattle but insisted he did not know that vehicles had also been sold, even after the commission had concluded its work.
“And all this time you were working at the ministry?” Counsel pressed.
“Yes,” the witness replied.
The witness further explained that, at the time, the responsibility for sales or transfers of assets fell under the mandate of the Director of Civil Litigation and International Guard.
However, counsel Kah reminded the witness that the assets were placed under the custody of the Registrar General, and that he himself held the position of Registrar General in February 2019.
“And you want this committee to believe that, throughout the work that the commission did with regard to sales, you were not aware?” she asked.
“No,” he said.
The witness testified that he was aware his colleague, Mr. Jallow, had been involved in certain activities such as the sale of cattle and related matters. However, he insisted that he had no knowledge of vehicle sales, despite being a staff member of the ministry.
“Mr. Colley, you were and still are a very senior officer at the Ministry of Justice, one of the most senior officers at the ministry. You are telling this committee that there is no way you would have been able to learn about the sales of these assets,” Counsel Kah asked
“No way, unless someone informs me or a letter or whatever correspondence is assigned for me to work on,” He Said.
He further testified that, at the time, no senior management meetings were being held, and even if such meetings had taken place, he was not aware of them.
Counsel Kah also questioned whether the Registrar General’s Department possessed a report or inventory of the stock discovered at Kanilai. The witness replied that no such documentation existed.
“I did not inherit any file where a list is included. There is no such record,” He Said.
Counsel Kah questioned the witness on his failure to take initiative in seeking information from his predecessor, noting that this shortcoming was creating difficulties for the committee.
“Can you see that your lack of initiative or endeavor to obtain all this information from your predecessor is causing some issues? For example, you cannot provide the information that this committee needs even though you were and are currently the registrar general,” Counsel Kah asked.
In response, the witness said he could only act on matters formally brought to his attention. He explained that there had been no formal handing-over process between him and his predecessor, and that he had merely been given a memo to assume his role.
Counsel Kah pressed further, asking: “Between December 2018 and, perhaps, let’s say, the end of the commission’s work, which was in March 2019, we can say you did not do everything you were supposed to do?”
The witness admitted that he had not, particularly with respect to the activities of the Janneh Commission.
Counsel Kah argued that the witness’s inaction contributed to the failures, but the witness maintained that he could only act on matters of which he was made aware.
Counsel Adji later pointed out that the witness had failed to carry out his responsibilities in line with the High Court’s order and had also neglected to respond to the Commission’s correspondence. She stressed that by failing to act, he bore responsibility for the consequences that followed. She further noted that he had not raised the lack of a handing-over process with either the Solicitor General or the Attorney General.
The witness, however, insisted that the then Solicitor General was aware of the challenges he faced.
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