Committee urges probe into 63 court frozen Jammeh properties
A special select committee of the National Assembly has called for a fresh investigation into sixty-three landed properties linked to former president Yahya A.J.J Jammeh that were frozen under a High Court order but never investigated by the Janneh Commission.
The revelation, contained in the committee’s report on the sale and disposal of assets identified by the commission of inquiry into the financial dealings of public bodies and their links to the former leader, raises new concerns about gaps in the original asset investigation.
According to the committee, the sixty-three properties were placed under a High Court freeze order but were not examined by the Janneh Commission during its inquiry. The committee is now urging government to urgently commission a supplementary administrative investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the properties.
The report states that the investigation should examine how each property was originally acquired and determine its current status.
The committee believes the matter requires immediate attention and has recommended that government report back to the National Assembly within 90 days of launching the probe.
The call for a new investigation comes amid wider findings by the committee that additional properties linked to the former president were discovered after the Janneh Commission completed its work.
The committee notes that the Ministry of Justice uncovered twelve landed properties in 2022 that were not identified during the commission’s investigations. The discovery followed a directive issued under the sanction of the President of the Republic instructing the Office of the Attorney General to investigate claims of properties believed to belong to the former president but not captured in the commission’s report.
Officials from the Attorney General’s Chambers identified the properties and reported the findings to the Office of the President through a letter dated 21 June 2022.
While the list of the newly discovered properties was not the main focus of the committee’s inquiry, members said the discovery was significant enough to be formally reported as part of their findings.
The committee also pointed out that the Janneh Commission itself had earlier indicated that investigations into several properties remained inconclusive and required further scrutiny. Among the properties previously flagged were land in Kerr Serign Njagga, property at 72 Kairaba Avenue registered under serial number 166/2004 Vol. 77 KD, land on Kairaba Avenue in Fajara measuring 2,694.47 square metres seized from Banta Kaira, property in Lamin Kerewan under the Swami Layout, and land in Gifanga Village.
However, the committee said it did not receive evidence that further investigations were carried out by the Executive concerning those properties.
To strengthen transparency going forward, the committee has also recommended the creation of a single consolidated asset register for all landed properties associated with the former president and his associates that have been forfeited to the state.
The proposed register would contain full details of each property and be digitised and made publicly accessible through a government portal, with updates provided every quarter.
Source: The Point
