By Fatou Krubally
The Sheriff of the High Court has admitted that the 2018 sale of livestock seized from former President Yahya Jammeh was conducted without an inventory, buyer list, or valuation report despite clear directives from the High Court.
Testifying before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee on the Sale and Disposal of Assets on Thursday, Sheriff Omar Jabang revealed that the file he inherited in October 2023 contained no documentation identifying the buyers, the quantity or value of the livestock sold, or the proceeds deposited into state coffers.
“There exist no inventory or valuation report, or list of persons who purchased the items,” Jabang said, reading from a statement submitted to the committee.
The High Court, on 3 January 2018, had ordered the Sheriff of the High Court to sell livestock identified in the Janneh Commission report and pay proceeds into an interest-bearing account. The Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency (GLMA) was tasked with assisting in evaluating the livestock. However, Jabang told the committee: “There was no valuation… and there was no correspondence to show that GLMA was ever contacted.”
Jabang, who was not Sheriff at the time of the sale, outlined standard court procedures for asset disposal. He said auctions were expected to be publicly advertised, and full sale records including buyer names and payment details must be filed in a sales return and stored with the court file. None of these records are available for the livestock sale.
“There was a file regarding the livestock sale, but there was nothing in the file to show who bought the items, how much was paid, or how it was valued,” Jabang said. “I don’t know why it didn’t happen.”
He added that since 2022, the Judiciary has implemented a policy requiring payments above D100 to be made directly to a bank and not through the Sheriff’s Office. However, he could not confirm whether this policy applied at the time of the Jammeh livestock sale or if any funds were deposited into a court account.
Lawmakers expressed alarm at the lack of documentation. Some raised concerns about whether public assets were mismanaged or lost due to negligence or deliberate non-compliance with court orders.
The committee is tasked with examining how assets recovered from the former president and his associates were disposed of and whether due process was followed. Hearings are expected to continue next week.