By Fatou Dahaba
In a tense exchange that underscored the high stakes of The Gambia’s ongoing probe into the controversial sale of former President Yahya Jammeh’s assets, Sergeant Adama Jange faced sharp warnings from lawmakers and counsel to “speak the whole truth” and cease “misinforming” the committee. The session, part of the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee inquiry into the Janneh Commission’s identified properties, exposed glaring contradictions in Jange’s account of his role in securing state vehicles during the turbulent transition from Jammeh’s regime to President Adama Barrow’s coalition government.
Established in May 2025 amid public outrage over the disposal of assets worth millions – including vehicles, livestock, and properties seized as part of the 2017-2019 Janneh Commission probe into Jammeh’s financial malfeasance – the committee has been extended until December to unravel allegations of undervalued sales, procedural lapses, and potential corruption.
Jange, a former state guard and army mechanic, was summoned to clarify his involvement in the 2017 retrieval of vehicles from the Motor Service Agency (MSA) in Kotu, amid claims that coalition affiliates had seized them for personal use.
Lamin M. Dibba, counsel to the committee, issued a stern admonition early in the proceedings, urging Jange to align his narrative with verifiable facts. “Be mindful of your testimony – the sequences you’re narrating do not add up,” Dibba cautioned, ordering the production of Jange’s Part 1 Order – a military deployment document – to pinpoint his exact posting to the State House. Jange struggled to recall basic details: when he was deployed, under whose command he served, and to whom he reported.
The 37-year-old sergeant, who testified under oath, provided a fragmented account of his movements from 2016 to 2017. He claimed to have served as a State House guard under Jammeh, spent time in Kanilai (Jammeh’s rural stronghold), and independently provided security at President Barrow’s Brufut residence shortly after the coalition’s 2017 takeover. By early 2017, he said, he was at MSA in Kotu, not as a mechanic but as security, following a tip-off about “coalition boys” looting vehicles.
This web of overlapping roles drew immediate skepticism. Committee member Hon. Sheriff Sarr interjected sharply: “You went there on your own? Nobody asked you? You were at State House, in Kanilai, and now Brufut – all in 2016? You had three portfolios at once? And you went to MSA to meet coalition security? Where are we? Be frank with us. Tell us the grassroots movement’s reaction ahead.”
Chairman Abdoulie Ceesay amplified the frustration, demanding precision on timelines. “Stop beating around the bush,” he urged. “At what time in 2016 were you redeployed to Brufut? To State camp or Kanilai? Give us durations, times – and stop joking.” Ceesay’s patience frayed further: “You’re not giving us facts. You will not go home today. And I am very much serious about that.” The veiled threat hung heavy, emphasizing the committee’s zero tolerance for evasion in a probe already mired in conflicting accounts from officials, such as Janneh Commission Secretary Ramou Sarr, who recently admitted being sidelined from key asset-sale meetings.
Pressed by the back-and-forth, Jange clarified that his army enlistment was as a mechanic, but insisted his MSA role was security-focused. He recounted arriving at MSA in early 2017 from Brufut after learning of an impending raid. Led by a former army colleague named Jadama (now abroad, first name forgotten), the group – allegedly coalition loyalists – used force against MSA custodian Siaka, seizing five vehicles. Jange said he trailed them and recovered the fleet, prompting then-Secretary General Dawda Fadera to attach him to MSA formally.
The session adjourned with Jange ordered to return with documents, leaving lawmakers to ponder whether his story would hold or crumble under further cross-examination.
