The EF Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ) has hailed the Gambian National Assembly’s decision to convene an extraordinary session on 13-14 May 2025 to establish a special select committee tasked with investigating the controversial sale and disposal of assets amassed by former dictator Yahya Jammeh. The move follows a damning investigative report by The Republic titled “The Assets of Gambia’s Former Dictator Go for a Song,” published on 30 April, which exposed alleged corruption, abuse of office, and disregard for the law in the handling of these assets.
The motion, proposed by Majority Leader and Kantora representative Billay Tunkara, responds to growing public outcry over the opaque process surrounding the sale of Jammeh’s assets, which were forfeited to the state after his ouster in 2017. The EFSCRJ commended Tunkara’s initiative, emphasizing the need for a transparent public inquiry to ensure accountability and adherence to ethical standards.
Jammeh, who ruled The Gambia for 22 years, amassed an estimated 281 properties, including residential and commercial estates, islands, forest parks, wildlife reserves, and wetlands, as well as two overseas properties in Morocco and the United States. According to the Janneh Commission, established in 2017 to investigate his financial dealings, Jammeh misappropriated over D1.06 billion, $304.7 million, €29.4 million, and £2.2 million. His wife, Zeinab, was found to have siphoned off an additional D3.3 million, $1.8 million, and £6,000.
The Republic’s report alleged that public officials under President Adama Barrow’s administration sold these assets to friends, family, and themselves at significantly undervalued prices, with little transparency regarding buyers, sale amounts, or procedures. Despite public and media scrutiny, no comprehensive report on the sales has been made public.
On 5 May 2025, the Ministry of Justice responded, claiming that the National Audit Office had audited all asset sales and that a detailed report would soon be submitted to the National Assembly. However, the EFSCRJ noted that a Ministerial Committee, chaired by former Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou and including current and former ministers Hamat Bah, Musa Drammeh, and Amie Faburay, oversaw the sales between 2019 and 2020 without publishing any reports or conducting audits.
The EFSCRJ stressed that these assets, stolen from individuals, institutions, and the state, were acquired through gross human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and executions, as documented by the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC). The organization underscored that properly managing these assets is central to The Gambia’s transitional justice process and the “Never Again” commitment to prevent a return to dictatorship.
The EFSCRJ urged the National Assembly to endorse Tunkara’s motion and called on the forthcoming committee to uphold integrity, transparency, objectivity, fairness, and professionalism in its inquiry. The group emphasized that Gambians deserve “the truth and the whole truth” and that the proceeds from asset sales should benefit the nation and Jammeh’s victims.
As The Gambia seeks to build a democratic future, the EFSCRJ vowed to closely monitor the executive and legislature to ensure accountability and the effective implementation of the TRRC and Janneh Commission recommendations.
