Africa-Press – Gambia. Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubacarr M. Tambadou has testified before the National Assembly Special Select Committee investigating the sale and disposal of assets belonging to former President Yahya Jammeh, stating that allegations made by Kurang against lead counsel Amie Bensouda were unsubstantiated.
Tambadou was giving evidence on Kurang’s removal as Secretary General of the Janneh Commission. He said the commissioners informed him that they could no longer work with Kurang due to irreconcilable differences.
“The commissioners explicitly told me that they could no longer work with him,” He Said
The former AG explained that he held a meeting with all three commissioners to determine whether they could continue working with Kurang. Tambadou said that, in light of Kurang’s letter to the President—which was also copied to him—and the nature of the allegations in the letter, it would have been nearly impossible for him to continue working in the same environment with the lead counsel.
He added that Kurang had “crossed certain lines” with his allegations and had failed to provide any evidence to substantiate them.
Tambadou also testified that he met with Kurang, the lead counsel, and the commissioners, and even consulted the president regarding the matter. He said Kurang’s removal was based on these interactions and his inability to maintain a working relationship with the commissioners and lead counsel.
Addressing suggestions from the committee that Kurang was removed for not adhering to Cabinet instructions, Tambadou disagreed. He noted that if that were the case, Kurang would have been dismissed earlier, rather than requiring Tambadou’s intervention with the President.
“If the reason you are proffering of his sacking was based on his relationship with the president’s office, in particular the office of the secretary general, then I am wondering why he wasn’t sacked soon after the relationship went south, that it had to take my intervention at the level of his excellency the president for him to be relieved of his duty,” he said.
Tambadou further explained that when he asked Kurang to provide evidence for his allegations against lead counsel Amie Bensouda, Kurang admitted that he could not provide any supporting documentation, relying only on his personal assertions.
Among the claims made by Kurang was the selective questioning of witnesses. In his petition, Kurang alleged that the commission had ignored requests to call material witnesses and that investigations into critical national assets—including social security, housing finance, NAWEC, Gamtel, and MSA Crude Oil—were compromised due to conflicts of interest.
Reading from Kurang’s petition, Tambadou highlighted the accusations: “All indications are that you are completely conflicted in most aspects of the social security and housing finance corporation asset dealings. It would seem apparent to me, and looking at the attachments here, that investigations into dealings of ex-president and public corporations cannot be objectively completed while you remain in charge., SSHFC, NAWEC, Gamtel, and MSA Crude Oil Etc are critical national interests that you are clearly conflicted in a way that is fatally dangerous to the commission’s mandate.”
Tambadou dismissed these allegations, emphasizing that claims of conflict do not equate to actual conflicts of interest.
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