By Fatou Dahaba
A former commissioner of the Janneh Commission has accused the Barrow administration of direct interference in the disposal of assets seized from ex-President Yahya Jammeh, revealing how a single phone call from the Office of the President abruptly halted tractor sales mid-process.
Ms. Abiosseh George, testifying Wednesday before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee on the Sale and Disposal of Assets identified by the Janneh Commission, described the intervention as the starting point of a strained relationship between the Commission and State House.
“The call came during a cabinet meeting,” Ms. George told lawmakers. “We were instructed to suspend the tractor sales immediately so the government could submit a proposal to redistribute them to farmers for subsistence farming.”
The directive, she said, arrived just as public auctions were about to begin. “From the Commission’s perspective, if the government wanted the tractors for farmers, this could have been raised much earlier. We would have considered it.”
Despite assurances that a formal redistribution plan was forthcoming, Ms. George testified that no proposal ever materialized. With tractors and other assets rapidly losing value—some vandalized, others stripped for parts—the Commission was forced to resume sales to preserve whatever value remained.
“We realized assets were being dissipated, cannibalized, or in the case of licenses, consumed,” she explained. “The primary reason for selling was preservation. Once sold, they could no longer depreciate or be stolen.”
The Janneh Commission, established in 2017, uncovered how Jammeh and his associates looted over US$1 billion from state coffers through corrupt deals and asset seizures. Its recommendations led to the confiscation and sale of properties, vehicles, and equipment linked to the former dictator.
Ms. George’s testimony paints a picture of executive overreach that undermined the Commission’s independence. Lawmakers on the select committee expressed alarm at the revelations, with several describing the presidential intervention as “deeply troubling.”
The hearing is scheduled to continue on Thursday, with more former commissioners expected to testify regarding alleged irregularities in the multi-million-dollar sale of assets from the Jammeh era.
