Africa-Press – Gambia. Ramou Sarr, Secretary to the Janneh Commission, has told the National Assembly Select Committee probing the sale and disposal of former President Jammeh’s assets that she was sidelined from the tractor sales conducted during her tenure.
Testifying before the committee on Monday, Lead Counsel Dibba asked Sarr to clarify how many tractors were sold under the commission’s exercise. She replied that the report reflected a total of 95 tractors—43 in the first phase and 52 in the second.
According to her testimony, the first phase of sales took place from 23rd to 26th June 2018 under the supervision of the former commission secretary, who oversaw the auction of 43 tractors. Phase two began on 1st October 2018, by which time Sarr had officially assumed office as secretary on 9th July 2018.
However, she insisted that she was not included in the deliberations that led to the sales despite holding the position of secretary. “I was the secretary but was not part of it,” she told the committee.
Reading from the sales report, Sarr explained that a new team was constituted following the departure of her predecessor.
“Upon the orders of the commission, when Mr Kurang left, a meeting was convened by the commissioners, the result of which led to the formation of a new team for the sale, led by me, Miss Fatou Drammeh, and Mr Kebba Bojang. The team comprises the staff of the commission together with some staff at the office of the president, four cashiers from the accountant general’s office, and an auctioneer. The team embarked on a five-day trip around the country and identified tractors parked at various police stations on the orders of the commission,” she testified.
Despite this, Sarr emphasized that her name did not appear in the report as part of the sales meetings, which she said confirmed her exclusion. Counsel Dibba countered that she was indeed part of the meetings, but Sarr maintained otherwise.
She further explained that Drammeh and Bojang, who were directly responsible for the sales, reported not to her but to the lead counsel and commissioners. According to her, the sales report should have been addressed to her office but was instead submitted to the commission chairman.
Sarr also revealed that she was excluded from two critical meetings without explanation. Her only involvement, she said, was drafting a letter to media houses announcing the auction.
When pressed by counsel, she maintained that although 95 tractors were sold during her time, she had no direct contact with the assistant secretaries who carried out the sales.
Counsel Dibba challenged her testimony, arguing that, given her role as Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and secretary to the commission, she must have been aware of the process.
The witness maintains that she has no knowledge, but the lead counsel told her that those people couldn’t have embarked without her stamp and approval.
“Excuse my language, but were you just a puppet being directed from above?” Dibba asked.
“How can I be a puppet?” Sarr retorted, maintaining that she was deliberately excluded from the sales process.
She concluded that all meetings concerning the sales were organized by the commissioners, not by her office.
For More News And Analysis About Gambia Follow Africa-Press
