By: Kemo Kanyi
The Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCFRJ) has written to the attorney general and minister of justice, requesting a full disclosure of the buyers of Yahya Jammeh’s assets.
The centre’s request came hot on the heels of the publication on April 30th of a damning report by the investigative media outlet The Republic, detailing how the properties of the former Gambian dictator were sold off at giveaway prices.
According to The Republic, functionaries of the Barrow administration disposed of the former President’s properties to themselves, friends, and family at prices a fraction of their value.
The centre said the investigative report exposed decisions and actions that it said “are tantamount to abuse of office, corruption, conflict of interest and self-enrichment”.
The EFSCFRJ said that the requested information is public information generated through and by the defunct Janneh Commission and in the custody of the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Justice.
“May 5, we have submitted a request for information to the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Justice on the sale of assets of former dictator Yaya Jammeh. We submitted the request in line with the Access to Information (ATI) Act 2021,” the centre explained.
According to the centre, the way Jammeh’s assets were disposed of has caused economic loss to The Gambia, communities, entities, and individuals.
“By law, the government must provide the full and accurate information on the sale of these assets to Gambians who have a right to know,” EFSCFRJ stated.
Consequently, the EFSCFRJ requests from the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Justice the list of all Yahya Jammeh’s assets in all forms identified by the government, either through the Janneh Commission, TRR, C, or other Government agencies.
The centre is also requesting the disclosure of reports and minutes of the ministerial committee set up to oversee or decide on issues, regarding these assets or properties, valuation reports of landed properties and others, report of the auction and sales of these assets, including the list of buyers, the amounts each asset or property was bought for, the total amount of proceeds or revenue collected in the sale of the assets and the status of the rest of the assets/properties that were neither bought nor sold.
