Africa-Press – Gambia. Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubacarr M. Tambadou, has defended lead counsel Amie Bensouda’s decision to step aside from handling matters related to the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) during the commission of inquiry into former president Yahya Jammeh’s assets.
Testifying before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee probing the sale and disposal of Jammeh’s assets, Tambadou said Bensouda acted properly when she disclosed a potential conflict of interest arising from her past role as legal representative of SSHFC, one of the state-owned enterprises under investigation.
According to Tambadou, Bensouda formally informed him of the situation, prompting him to appoint Mustapha Batchilly to take over all SSHFC-related matters.
“She disclosed the conflict and advised that I appoint a replacement, which I did by bringing in Mr. Mustapha Batchilly to handle matters related to social security,” Tambadou told the committee.
Committee counsel, Mr. Dibba, pressed Tambadou on whether the conflict should have been identified at the time of Bensouda’s appointment rather than during the hearings.
In response, Tambadou noted that conflicts of interest are not always foreseeable at the outset of legal proceedings.
“Some conflicts you can foresee; others occur during the work. The key is to manage them appropriately when they arise,” he said.
Counsel Dibba also questioned why Bensouda reported the conflict to the Attorney General instead of directly to the commission. Tambadou replied that, as the appointing authority, he was the proper channel for addressing such issues.
“It was proper for lead counsel Bensouda to come to me and declare the potential conflict so I could appoint a replacement and protect the integrity of the commission,” he explained.
The former AG emphasized that Bensouda’s temporary recusal was both professional and necessary to safeguard the independence, transparency, and accountability of the commission.
He added that managing conflicts of interest is a routine part of overseeing commissions of inquiry, stressing that Bensouda acted responsibly by raising the matter early enough to avoid compromising the commission’s work.
However, Counsel Dibba maintained that the potential conflict should have been disclosed before Bensouda began her role as lead counsel, to prevent any perception of compromised independence from the outset.
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