By: Fatou Krubally
The legal ownership of Kanilai Game Park remains unclear as the place is still under tight military control, with the Jammeh family still present in the area, the Director of Parks and Wildlife, declared before parliamentarians on Monday.
According to Momodou Lamin Gassama, the Director of Parks and Wildlife, Kanilai Game Park has seen no formal state takeover since the departure of former President Yahya Jammeh in 2017.
Appearing before lawmakers, Mr. Gassama confirmed that the park’s legal ownership remains unclear, while soldiers stationed there continue to oversee parts of the park and collect visitor fees without any involvement of his department.
He says one serving soldier is also the sole caretaker of two pythons at the site. Asked whether his department ever considered absorbing the soldier as staff; to bring the pythons under proper departmental supervision, Gassama replied: “No, ma’am, we never tried.” He explained that in The Gambia, some traditional wildlife pools and reserves have long been managed by local families or communities, and “we don’t just offset that balance.”
Mr. Gassama told the committee that the Kanilai Game Park and the adjacent military camp are “one and the same”, adding that the presence of soldiers and the Jammeh family still occupying parts of the area makes formal management difficult. The Director revealed that since 2017, neither the Janneh Commission nor the Ministry of Justice has ever communicated any court order mandating his department to take over the park.
He said his office has repeatedly asked the line ministry and the Attorney General’s Chambers for clarity on the park’s status but has received no official response to date. “We don’t have any allocation for Kanilai, unfortunately,” Gassama said, explaining that any support for the animals comes by diverting small parts of his department’s general budget and feeding them leftover carcasses or condemned meat.
Meanwhile, soldiers continue to collect fees from visitors. Mr. Gassama stressed that without legal ownership or official instructions, the department cannot issue tickets or assume responsibility for revenue collection.
Lawmakers have now requested documentary proof of the department’s internal efforts to clarify the park’s legal standing, as the National Assembly seeks answers on how former president Jammeh’s assets, including wildlife reserves, can be properly managed or reclaimed.