By: Fatou Krubally
Alieu Jallow, former Registrar of Companies Tuesday told lawmakers that he was never aware of a High Court order that vested custody of additional assets belonging to ex-President Yahya Jammeh in his office.
Mr. Jallow made the denial as he appeared before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee on the Sale and Disposal of Assets Identified by the Janneh Commission.
The order in question referred to as MOJ 5C was granted by the High Court on 21st July 2017, following an application by the Attorney General. It expanded on an earlier order (MOJ 5A, dated 22nd May 2017), placing 17 more companies and bank accounts under the control of the Registrar General.
But Mr. Jallow, who held the position at the time, repeatedly denied ever seeing the document or being informed of its existence.
“I have never seen this order,” he stated under oath. “With all honesty, I was not aware of it. No one from the Ministry of Justice or the Attorney General’s Chambers informed me.”
This raised eyebrows among committee members, especially since Mr. Jallow admitted to physically visiting and handing over properties that were listed in MOJ 5C. When pressed on how he could carry out those tasks without knowledge of the legal authority backing them, he insisted his actions were based solely on the first court order and instructions from his superiors.
“I acted based on the May 22nd order. It gave us control over movable and immovable assets. So we followed up on that conducted visits, made inventories, and handed over properties. But I was never told about this July order,” he said.
Lawmakers challenged his explanation, pointing out inconsistencies in his written statement to the committee’s investigators. Initially, Mr. Jallow claimed he submitted inventories to the Janneh Commission and corresponded with the Chief of Defence Staff. However, under cross-examination, he admitted that he forgot about those letters and had signed the statement without thoroughly reviewing it.
“You are a legal practitioner with over 10 years of experience,” a member remarked. “You had every opportunity to correct your statement before signing. You cannot now shift that responsibility.”
Mr. Jallow conceded that the statement was accurate but claimed his memory only returned upon seeing the documents during the hearing.
The Special Select Committee continues to probe the management and disposal of Jammeh’s assets following the Janneh Commission’s findings. Jallow’s testimony has added new questions about inter-agency coordination, document handling, and institutional accountability at the Ministry of Justice.