Former AG Defends Sale of Jammeh Associate’s Assets to Hamidou Jah at Below Valuation
By Fatou Sillah
Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubacarr M. Tambadou, has defended his decision to authorize the sale of assets belonging to former President Yahya Jammeh’s close associate, Muhammed Bazzi, to local consultant Hamidou Jah at a price below their official valuation.
Mr. Tambadou appeared before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee, which is investigating the disposal of assets belonging to Jammeh and his associates. During the session, Counsel Aji Saine Kah referred to testimony from Alpha Barry, the receiver of Jammeh’s assets, who said Mr. Jah had disclosed that he was in possession of equipment and vehicles tied to Bazzi’s NAWEC power plant project in Brikama.
According to Mr. Barry, the assets were valued at 8.9 million dalasis, but the committee later determined they were worth even more. Ultimately, the properties—which included more than 50 vehicles and other equipment—were sold to Mr. Jah for 7 million dalasis, over a million less than the valuation.
Mr. Tambadou told lawmakers he could not recall the full details of the case but trusted Mr. Barry’s account.
“I have no reason to doubt Mr. Barry’s account. The reason I say this is because I know that Mr. Barry will not make a false statement on that. So in spite of my lack of remembrance, I have no reason to doubt his accounts. I still don’t recall because, like I said, I don’t want to sound dismissive of this process, but I don’t recall this, but I don’t doubt his recall. Let’s say I was informed about these assets,” he said.
Counsel Kah pointed out to the witness that the properties, which included more than fifty vehicles and various equipment, were ultimately sold to Hamidou Jah for seven million dalasis—over one million dalasis below their assessed value.
In response, Tambadou confirmed that he had given Barry the approval to proceed, explaining that the decision was driven by the urgent need to complete the Brikama power plant project.
“It doesn’t make sense to sell off these assets to a third party, and then Mr. Jah will have to procure new equipment again to continue the project,” He Said.
He also says that the sale avoided potential delays in building the power plant.
“It would make sense to sell these assets to Mr. Jah so that he can continue with the project. Whether it was one million more or less, I guess they negotiated, I can live with that,” He Said.
He added that whether the final price was “one million more or less,” the outcome was acceptable under the circumstances.
Mr. Tambadou admitted that he gave Mr. Barry authority to negotiate and finalize the sale. “I gave him the authority to sell with negotiations. If he sells it for a million less, given the circumstances, I think that was reasonable,” He Said.
When questioned about why Mr. Hamidou Jah withheld the assets before eventually disclosing them to the receiver, Tambadou said he did not consider it unusual, citing the widespread concealment of properties linked to ex-President Yahya Jammeh.
“No, Counsel, it did not occur to me at the time because I knew that, with time, there were going to be more revelations of other properties that belong to former President Jammeh. So it was not something that was totally shocking to me,” he said.
Pressed on whether the Ministry of Justice considered investigating the matter further, Mr. Tambadou replied: “No, not at all, not in the context of the other things that we have to do at that time,” he testified.