By Alieu Ceesay
The National Assembly’s special select committee probing the disposal of ex-President Yahya Jammeh’s assets ordered the immediate arrest of former acting registrar of companies Alieu Jallow on Thursday, charging him with contempt of parliament, perjury, and obstruction of justice. The dramatic courtroom-style detention—executed inside the Assembly chamber—marks the second such incident in two days.
Committee counsel Amie Silah-Mbye moved for Jallow’s arrest after forensic experts revealed he had accessed, modified, and deleted files from his laptop hours before surrendering it for analysis. “I am applying that the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly arrest Mr. Alieu Jallow, the witness before this committee today, and hand him over to the IGP for custody and further investigation,” Silah-Mbye declared, citing Sections 108, 109, and 110 of the 1997 Constitution, alongside the National Assembly Powers and Privileges Act.
Honourable Abdoulie Ceesay, committee chairman, granted the application without hesitation. “The Minister for Justice and Attorney General is hereby notified and directed to initiate criminal proceedings against Mr. Jallow for perjury, obstruction of parliamentary proceedings, and contempt of the National Assembly,” he ruled. Plainclothes Gambia Police Force officers stationed inside the chamber swiftly took Jallow into custody as stunned journalists and observers looked on.
Jallow, who oversaw the inventory and sale of Jammeh’s livestock and other assets during the post-2017 transitional inquiries, denied any impropriety. Under intense questioning, he insisted he never advertised cattle sales to the ex-president’s relatives or friends. Yet digital forensics contradicted his testimony: metadata showed dozens of relevant documents—including spreadsheets of livestock transactions—were permanently erased at 2:17 a.m. the night before the laptop was seized.
The arrest follows Wednesday’s detention of Adama Jagne, a mechanic at the state-owned Kotu Garage and army sergeant, for giving inconsistent statements about vehicles linked to Jammeh. Both cases signal the committee’s zero-tolerance stance on witness tampering.
Formed in 2025 to trace billions in allegedly looted assets, the panel has deployed international forensic auditors and subpoena powers. “No one is above the law—not even those who once guarded the registry,” Chairman Ceesay warned, ordering security personnel and the public to comply.
Jallow remains in police custody pending formal charges. Civil society groups hailed the move as proof of institutional resolve, while Jammeh loyalists decried it as political persecution. The probe continues.
