Africa-Press – Gambia. Almameh Gibba, the National Assembly Member for Foni Kansala, has called on President Adama Barrow to, as a matter of urgency; address the nation on the controversial sale of former president Yahya Jammeh’s assets.
After Jammeh’s ouster, government seized his assets, including over 281 properties, luxury vehicles, private jets and businesses across multiple sectors.
The Janneh Commission, mandated to investigate Jammeh’s financial dealings, found overwhelming evidence of corruption, theft, and abuse of office, with Jammeh and his associates allegedly siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars from state coffers.
However, the process of recovering and selling the assets has itself been marred by allegations of corruption involving government officials tasked with managing the disbursement and sale of the assets.
Reports indicate that some assets have been sold at undervalued prices, raising suspicions about transparency and accountability in the process.
Investigative outlet The Republic, over the weekend published the third part of its serialisation of the sale of Jammeh’s assets.
The article, authored by Mustapha K Darboe, highlighted alleged questionable decisions, conflict of interest and non-transparent methods of the sales of land, vehicles and other items seized by the state on the recommendation of the Janneh Commission of Enquiry.
Reacting to the article in an audio shared, Hon Gibba who continues to be a vocal critic of the government’s handling of assets, said President Barrow should tell Gambians what happened to them.
“The president should also tell us what his government intends to do with those found wanting, to ensure the wealth they corruptly acquired is returned to the state just like those properties were seized from Jammeh. What is wrong under Jammeh,cannot be right under Barrow,” he charged.
He added: “They sold Jammeh’s properties to their friends, family members and loved ones at giveaway prices. The same people who accused Jammeh of corruption are now found wanting so the president must ensure they pay for their actions.”
Hon Gibba further alleged that immediately after the change of government in 2017, officials including even military officers started looting Jammeh’s compound in Kanilai.
“They collected all his belongings and nobody knows where they are. The sad thing about this is that these are the same people who were insulting Jammeh and accusing him of all sorts of things. Isn’t this ironic? This is why most of them have built mansions and took their children to the best of schools in and outside the country. We knew most of them before they got into government. Some of them were even struggling to put food on the table,” Gibba said.
He said government should immediately establish a commission to investigate the sale of Jammeh’s assets and ensure those found wanting are dealt with.
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