By Fatou Dahaba
Finance Minister Seedy Keita faced intense scrutiny before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee investigating the sale and disposal of assets linked to former President Yahya Jammeh, with lawmakers demanding answers about a mysterious sixth aircraft still stranded in Germany and the seemingly low prices fetched for others.
Appearing before the committee probing recommendations of the 2017–2019 Janneh Commission, Keita confirmed that Cabinet had approved the 2018 sale of two Jammeh-era aircraft to Sankajula Holding Company Limited for a total of just $240,000. Reading from a 2018 letter he presented as evidence, the minister quoted the government’s instruction to the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA): “We are pleased to convey approval for the sale of the above aircraft based on your offer of $240,000 total. Please make payment to the Central Bank and take possession of the aircraft.” Keita insisted that the full amount had been deposited into a special Central Bank account created to receive assets recovered under the Janneh Commission’s mandate.
Lawyers assisting the committee reminded Keita that the Janneh Commission had identified six aircraft belonging to the state or the former president in 2018. When investigators visited Banjul International Airport, only five were found. Officials were told the sixth – a luxury jet – had been flown to Europe for maintenance during Jammeh’s final days in power and never returned.
Pressed on the missing plane’s current status, Keita admitted: “In our files, the records we have are the five aircraft that were sold. The aircraft that is in Germany is not in our file. I think that will be with the civil aviation.”
After a brief consultation with his technical team during the hearing, he confirmed the aircraft remains in Germany but claimed the Ministry of Finance has no updated records. He pledged to formally write to the GCAA for clarification on ownership, maintenance costs, and whether any plan exists to bring the jet home.
Separately, Keita disclosed that three other “derelict” aircraft from the same fleet were sold to the same buyer – Sankajula Holding Company, represented by Consular Law Chambers – for $500,000 in what was described as an “as-is, where-is” transaction. A letter from the government accepted the offer on a cash-only basis and required the buyer to remove the planes within three months.
Committee members expressed alarm at the low sale prices and the fact that the same little-known company acquired all five documented aircraft. Lawmakers have vowed to summon GCAA officials and demand complete maintenance and storage invoices for the aircraft still in Germany, amid fears that millions of dollars in public assets may have been disposed of well below market value or remain unaccounted for years after Jammeh’s exile.
