Human Rights Activist Madi Jobarteh Calls Handling of Jammeh Assets “Tragic,” Demands Accountability

By Seedy Jobe

Human rights defender Madi Jobarteh has sharply criticized the Gambian government over what he described as a delayed and poorly handled process surrounding the sale and disposal of assets linked to former president Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, calling the situation “tragic.”

Jobarteh’s remarks came less than 24 hours after a Special Select Committee of the National Assembly of The Gambia recommended criminal investigations and urgent institutional reforms following a parliamentary inquiry into how assets identified by the Janneh Commission were managed, sold, or otherwise disposed of.

Reacting to the committee’s report, Jobarteh—founder and executive director of the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice—questioned the Ministry of Justice’s eight-year delay in providing a comprehensive account of the asset sales.

“It is tragic that it has taken eight years and the work of an investigative journalist to unearth the dubious sales and disposal of these assets,” Jobarteh said. “Only after three days of relentless protests by responsible youths did both the executive and the legislature finally act.”

He further questioned why the government had waited so long to publicly disclose details of the transactions.

“What was the government waiting for eight years to report to Gambians how these assets were sold and disposed of? What were they hiding?” he asked.

Jobarteh said the episode revealed deep governance failures within state institutions.

“In all this saga, what is glaringly evident is the sheer incompetence, negligence, dereliction of duty, disregard for the law, and corruption,” he said.

According to Jobarteh, senior government officials—including the president, the minister of justice, and the ministerial committee tasked with overseeing the asset disposals—had failed to uphold standards of transparency and accountability.

He also directed criticism at the legislature, arguing that the National Assembly had failed to effectively exercise its oversight mandate.

“The National Assembly failed in its oversight duties from the very beginning. The assembly never gave any attention to the Janneh Commission from the beginning to the end, thereby giving a free hand to the Executive to do as they liked,” he said.

Jobarteh urged the government to fully implement the parliamentary committee’s recommendations and ensure accountability for any wrongdoing uncovered.

“The result is what we are witnessing today,” he said. “I hope these recommendations will be implemented in full without fear or favor.”