Gambian Parliamentary Committee Finds Lack of Accountability in Sale of Ex-President Jammeh’s Seized Assets

By Fatou Sillah

A Special Select Committee of the National Assembly has concluded that the sale and disposal of assets linked to former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh and his associates were carried out without a coherent, disciplined, and fully accountable governance framework.

In a report tabled before the National Assembly, the committee said its inquiry revealed not simply isolated administrative lapses but a broader pattern of structural weaknesses in the management of the seized assets.

According to the report, these weaknesses included fragmented custodial arrangements, inconsistent enforcement of court orders, flawed valuation processes, incomplete reconciliation of proceeds from asset sales, and unclear lines of institutional responsibility.

“These failures are not incidental,” the committee stated. “They reveal that while the nation undertook important legislative reforms after the change of government in 2016, the deeper systems that ensure transparency, discipline, and accountability were only partially reformed.”

The committee noted that although several laws have been amended and oversight frameworks strengthened since the end of Jammeh’s rule in 2017, elements of the previous administrative culture persist in parts of the public service. These include informal decision-making practices, inadequate documentation standards, limited technical capacity in key government portfolios, and insufficient professional orientation in public administration.

Members of the committee emphasized that the issues uncovered go beyond legal deficiencies and point to broader concerns about institutional competence and governance culture.

As such, the report was described not merely as a retrospective review of past actions but as a diagnostic assessment of the country’s asset recovery framework.

The committee stressed that asset recovery efforts do not end with freezing orders, commissions of inquiry, or the issuance of government white papers. It warned that without a structured post-forfeiture management regime—anchored in strict financial controls, professional standards, traceable procedures, competent oversight, and real-time reconciliation of proceeds—the final stage of asset disposal risks undermining the objective of safeguarding public resources.

In carrying out its mandate, the committee conducted a comparative analysis between the amounts established in evidence as having been embezzled and the funds recovered through asset tracing, forfeiture, and disposal. The analysis examined recoveries across the currencies in which the alleged embezzlement occurred: the Gambian dalasi, the United States dollar, the pound sterling, and the euro.

The findings showed that recoveries denominated in Gambian dalasi exceeded the amounts alleged to have been embezzled in that currency, resulting in what the committee described as a positive variance. However, recoveries in foreign currencies fell significantly short of the amounts believed to have been diverted.

“These disparities demonstrate that, based on the evidence before the Committee, a significant portion of the alleged foreign-currency assets remains unrecovered,” the report noted, underscoring the need for stronger recovery mechanisms, enhanced financial tracing capabilities, and greater international cooperation in asset recovery.

The committee urged the government to treat its findings as a critical moment for reform. It called on authorities to complete the governance reforms initiated after the 2016 political transition by moving beyond legislative amendments and undertaking deeper administrative restructuring.

Such reforms, the committee said, should focus on strengthening technical capacity within public institutions and eliminating residual practices incompatible with modern democratic governance.

The committee said it submitted its report to the National Assembly with the conviction that full implementation of its recommendations would not only address past deficiencies but also strengthen the country’s accountability mechanisms for the future.

“This is not simply an administrative reckoning,” the report concluded. “It is an opportunity for institutional consolidation. The work before us now is to translate these findings into reform and ensure that never again will the management and disposal of public assets occur without discipline, transparency, and professional integrity.”