By: Haddy Touray
A Gambian land rights advocate has opposed calls by former Attorney General Abubacarr M. Tambadou for the removal or alteration of an investigative article on the disposal of assets linked to former President Yahya Jammeh.
The activist was quick to argue that the publication served the public interest and supported accountability efforts.
In an opinion piece published by the Securing Futures: Land Rights Action Collaborative (SFLRAC), activist Dave Manneh said demands to retract or delete the investigation published by journalist Mustapha K. Darboe in The Republic amounted to an attempt to suppress information relating to alleged elite capture, land dispossession, and the sale of state assets.
Tambadou recently issued a public response rejecting allegations contained in the investigation and reportedly demanded an apology, retraction, and removal or editing of the article across media platforms, describing the publication as defamatory.
Manneh argued that the matter extended beyond personal reputation and concerns broader questions about the management of public assets, communal land, and accountability in post-Jammeh Gambia.
“The article must stay. The record must remain,” he wrote.
The controversy relates to investigations into the disposal of assets linked to former President Yahya Jammeh following his departure from power in 2017.
According to Manneh, The Republic investigation documented properties, valuations, sale prices, and buyers involved in the disposal process, alleging that assets valued at approximately US$362 million were sold for about US$23.7 million.
He further noted that a National Assembly Special Select Committee report released on 10 March 2026 recommended that police investigate Tambadou over alleged violations of the Public Finance Act 2014, abuse of office, and economic crimes.
The parliamentary recommendation does not amount to a finding of guilt, and the allegations remain unproven pending any judicial proceedings.
Tambadou has reportedly maintained that the decisions in question were collective and lawful.
Manneh also linked the Jammeh asset disposal controversy to wider concerns over land dispossession affecting communities in The Gambia.
He argued that investigative reporting plays an important role in documenting disputed transactions and supporting accountability claims by affected communities.
According to him, removing such reports could weaken public access to information and undermine future efforts to challenge alleged abuses involving land and public assets.
The article further warned against what it described as “censorship by litigation threat,” while acknowledging that journalists remain obligated to correct factual inaccuracies where proven.
Manneh said legal remedies remain available if defamation claims are pursued through the courts.
He called on media institutions and civil society organizations to resist pressure aimed at removing investigative reporting from the public domain.
The dispute has renewed debate in The Gambia over press freedom, accountability, transitional justice, and the management of public resources inherited from the Jammeh era.
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