Africa-Press – Gambia. Ousainou Darboe, Secretary General and Party Leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has denied any involvement in the sale of assets belonging to former President Yahya Jammeh.
Speaking in an interview with Mengbe Kering, Darboe clarified that he was not directly involved in the decision-making process surrounding the sale of Jammeh’s assets, citing his limited presence in the country during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“I was not aware of the sale of Jammeh’s assets. At the time, I was serving as Foreign Minister and spent most of my time outside the country. I do recall participating in a cabinet discussion regarding the defreezing of his properties. But to me, even defreezing the assets did not entitle the government to sell them,” Darboe said.
He argued that since the properties were still registered in Jammeh’s name, the government had no legal right to sell them unless ownership was transferred. He emphasized that he held a dissenting opinion during cabinet deliberations on the matter.
“My position was that if Jammeh, for instance, failed to pay rent on his cattle farm for a specific period, the government could have taken control of those assets. Legally, they could then be repossessed and sold by the state. That was my suggestion, but the cabinet chose to proceed with defreezing,” he added.
Darboe also highlighted that freezing orders could have remained in place for Jammeh’s bank accounts, as the government would need a court order to access those funds.
On the issue of former Attorney General Ba Tambadou’s appointment, Darboe dismissed claims that he had recommended Tambadou for the post. He said that after his release from prison, President Adama Barrow excluded him and the UDP from key decisions.
“Barrow sidelined me from major decisions. When I returned from prison, I gave him a list of recommendations before cabinet appointments were finalized, but he did not act on any of them. I was only involved in high-level issues during cabinet meetings,” he stated.
Among those he recommended were Hon. Babucarr Boye—now Minister for Public Service—Adled Sosseh for a role in the education sector, Alkali Conteh for Minister of Tourism, and Mrs. Bintou Suso, who was ultimately rejected by Barrow due to her personal connections.
Darboe also recommended Ebrima Sillah, now Minister of Works, for the role of Director of Press at the Office of the President. However, President Barrow chose to appoint Amie Bojang Sissoho instead.
“Ba Tambadou was present during that meeting, but I doubt he listened to the discussion. Barrow told me that he had already decided on Amie Bojang for the Press Director role and Ba Tambadou for Attorney General. Neither Mai Fatty nor I, both of whom were potential candidates, were consulted,” Darboe said.
He concluded by stating that he was not consulted on other key cabinet appointments, including those of Fafa Sanyang, Bai Lamin Jobe, and the former Health Minister.
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