By Lamin Njie

Minister of Justice Abubacarr Tambadou on Friday said former President Yahya Jammeh stole a staggering 17 billion dalasis during his presidency, officially confirming reports that the former leader orchestrated a remarkable theft of state funds.

A consortium of investigative reporters, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in a serialised report titled, ‘The Great Gambia Heist,’ and published on March 27 bared how Jammeh and his associates plundered nearly 50 billion dalasis of ‘timber resources and Gambia’s public funds’.

Tens of thousands of documents — including government correspondence, contracts, bank records, internal investigations, and legal documents — lay bare the true scale of the theft, the group said.

On Friday, the Janneh Commission an investigation set up by President Adama Barrow to peep into the financial, assets and business dealings of the former president finally presented a 1,600-page report to President Barrow.

At the event, Justice Minister Tambadou disclosed that Jammeh was an egotistic megalomaniac who used billions of dalasis of state money to satisfy his ‘pretentious and delusional lifestyle.’

“…the former president alone pilfered at least D1,065,012,513; $304,718,071; 29,475,269 euros; and 2,250,000 pounds sterling. This is a staggering amount of money that could have had a significant impact on the lives of the ordinary people of this country, in health, in education, in agriculture and many other priority areas,” Mr Tambadou said.

The Janneh Commission investigation spanned 18 months during which it sifted through thousands of transcripts of 253 witness testimonies and other documentary evidence.

Mr Tambadou said the commission’s report “exposed former President Jammeh’s financial activities ranging from complex webs of intricate and sophisticated international financial transactions that bear all the hallmarks of criminality and money laundering in particular aided by his close associates, to shameless acts of brazen outright thievery at the Central Bank of The Gambia.”

“We have exposed the alarming scale of corruption of the former president and his close associates.
“We have now established that he claimed title to 281 landed properties in the country;

“We have shared information generated in the course of the commission’s work with foreign governments that are assisting us with the tracking and recovery of assets abroad and which led to the freezing of the Potmac residence by US authorities;

“We now know that the value of his Kanilai assets alone are worth D1,404,000;

“And we have seen a tightening of financial regulations by government departments and agencies to prevent corruption and financial leakages in the system.”

By Lamin Njie

A former orderly to AFPRC junta leader Yankuba Touray has revealed what he claims were the last words of the former commanding officer at Yundum Barracks Lieutenant Basirou Barrow moments before his arrest.

Ensa Mendy testifying before the TRRC on Thursday said the killed army officer was arrested as soon as he disembarked from his vehicle at around 1 am on November 11, 1994.

Mendy was among a group of well-armed soldiers who came to Yundum Barracks with at least four AFPRC junta leaders to crush the November 11 coup.

Mendy said: “The council members went and sat a few metres away from the guardroom. It was dark, they took cover. The other soldiers were in the guardroom, occupying the guardroom with Manlafi Corr. We were with them [council members]. We were there till around one o’clock onward and then we heard a vehicle coming.

“So the vehicle came, it was a Land Rover. The soldier dropped out. I heard Manlafi Corr saying AHOAH and then the one who boarded the vehicle [also] said AHOAH. The I recognised the voice of Lieutenant Basiru Barrow. AHOAH is a military term which means, ‘we’re ready.’

“So when Manlafi Corr said, ‘AHOAH’, then Lt Barrow said, ‘AHOAH, let’s go and f**k those bastards.’ That was the word that Barrow uttered. From there Manlafi Corr and the other soldiers they just captured him. When they caught him, he said, ‘Laa Illaaha Illallah Muhammadou Rasulullah (There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger).’

“That was the time they stripped him, took the jujus out from himand then the council members came. Yankuba Touray rushed upon him but he couldn’t make it. He fell down. Sana Sabally then ordered Manlafi Corr to take Barrow to the cells.”

By Lamin Njie

A formerly orderly to AFPRC junta leader Yankuba Touray has explained how a group of 30 men including him armed themselves to the teeth at State House on November 11, 1994 only to get to Yundum Barracks and find no resistance there.

Ensa Mendy who said he became an orderly to Yankuba Touray shortly after he was appointed as the Minister of Local Government and Lands testifying before the TRRC on Thursday said he was among a group of 30 men who stormed Yundum Barracks and seized control of it.

Mendy said: “When we reached home [in the evening from work], we took our lunch Yankuba Touray called me and said, ‘Mendy, can you please tell the guard commander to give me some men.’ The then guard commander was corporal Mbowe. I went there. I told him what Yankuba said. He gave me one of the soldiers that is Wassa Camara. He was a private soldier by then but he was sick. I went back and told Yankuba that, ‘well the guard commander gave me a soldier whom you know that is not feeling well.’ Then that was the time he me to go back and tell the guard commander to come and join him.

“They joined us and we boarded a vehicle to State House. It was five of us. I think it was around 9 pm. When we arrived at State House, we met some soldiers on parade and Yankuba Touray went up, to the chairman’s office. I can’t give a number but a sort of a platoon about 28 to 30. Almamo Manneh told us to go and join them. I think he was a staff sergearnt. At that parade, there was a container there. He opened the container and started issuing us with weapons, RPGs. These [weapons] were brand new. Some were issued with grenade belts.

“During the process of issuing these weapons, I was trying to question but Almamo told us to shut up and keep quiet. After issuing the weapons, that’s the time he started briefing us. He told us that there’s a military coup that is about to take place. He said according to intelligence work, these people are supposed to meet at Yundum Barracks at 2 am. So what we should do is to go there before [that time] and counter them.

“After the briefing we were there and then they came down then we boarded the vehicles. We stopped at Banjulinding. We met some soldiers there. I think Captain Singhatey Jnr… He joined us. They were discussing – the council members; Edward Singhatey, Yankuba Touray, Sadibou Hydara, Sanna Sabally and Peter Singhatey. We [then] departed towards Yundum Barracks.

“As we approached Yundum Barracks through the back gate where the wives of the [soldiers] stay, we went straight into the camp, we occupied all the guard posts. Soldiers [had] vacated their places. They ran away, left their weapons, their food. We didn’t meet any resistance there.”

By Lamin Njie

There is a saying that at the end of every hardship there is ease. Well one man, Mafugie Sonko, has just gone about corroborating that saying.

The former driver in the Gambian army testified before the TRRC on March 12 where he detailed how Peter Singhateh and other soldiers hid in flowers on the night of November 11, 1994.

Sonko, who history will remember for his Tinki-Tanka comment, was among a group of soldiers arrested in connection with the alleged coup of November 11, 1994. He was jailed for nine years and sacked from the army.

On Thursday, the 64-year-old was gifted a land and cash totalling 175, 000 dalasis.

At the presentation ceremony held at the TRRC headquarters in Kololi, Sonko who wore a pair of worn out indoors shoe, an over-size yellow robe and white cap smiled as he was roundly commended for his TRRC testimony.

“I want to say a very big thank you to Mr Yunus Hydara for organising this fundraising for Mafugie and thank the Gambian community for everything that they have done so far. Their support to the TRRC in particular to Mafugie and his family,” executive secretary of the TRRC Dr Baba Galleh Jallow said during the handover ceremony.

“I just want to say that this is not money coming from the TRRC, it is not an act of repatriation. It is an act we facilitated, good Gambians out there collecting some money for Mafugie and we just facilitating the handing over ceremony.”

TRRC lead counsel who is the man behind the land gift, on his part, said: “Mr Sonko is benefitting from this simply because of the appreciation of the Gambian people, that he has come out to speak truthfully about what he knows to have happened and what he perceived to have happened in the manner in which he understood things.”

The cash gift was handed over to Mr Sonko by top political scientist Dr Ismaila Ceesay.

By Lamin Njie

Vice President Dr Isatou Touray has said that she has seen the commitment of President Adama Barrow to move The Gambia forward for its people and the future generations.

Dr Touray stated this during a praise-strewn speech on Thursday after being sworn in as the new vice president of The Gambia. She was appointed to the post last week by President Barrow following the ruthless sacking of Ousainou Darboe.

Dr Touray said: “It is just two and a half years since the third republic was ushered in led by His Excellency Adama Barrow after 22 years of brutal dictatorship. Your emergence as the liberator supported by coalition leaders, youth women, men, private citizens and individuals has shown the will of all those concerned that you are the chosen leader of all the people to effect the change that was direly needed to move our beloved country, The Gambia.

“This new democracy under your leadership is a true reflection of the trust, hope and fulfillment of the people’s desire for change. A change that every Gambian is an architect for which you are also fulfilling your promises to the people of The Gambia. I have seen a Gambia returning to the lost glory of the first republic where people go about their businesses, work and engagements without fear of arrest or act of impunity; where the freedom of the press and expression has taken a centre stage with diverse news and opinions, expressed citizens participation and engagement is the order of the day.

“With your open door policy of tolerance, respect for human rights which are the hallmarks of democracy and good governance. Despite the challenges you have inherited from the former dictatorship, you are resolved to engage constructively and always encouraging your cabinet members to be patient and respect the rule of law and apply due diligence.

“In addition, the challenges for the betterment of The Gambia that are unfolding across the whole country is phenomenal and I appreciate this as a cabinet minister and a human rights activist.

“I have seen and observed your commitment, conviction and resolve to move The Gambia forward for its people and the future generations. You have placed and brought back The Gambia to the community of nations from a pariah state. Your recognition and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is what brought me closer to you.”

By Lamin Njie

President Adama Barrow has told the newly sworn in vice president of The Gambia that her nomination to the post was not based on any personal or special relationship.

Dr Isatou Touray has become the third vice president of The Gambia in two years, after her swearing in on Thursday.

Dr Touray was sworn in together with four new ministers and four new permanent secretaries at an event held at State House.

Speaking at the event, President Barrow said the identification and appointment of Dr Isatou Touray and eight others “reflect the trust and confidence we have in you as respectable and dependable patriots of the country.”

The president said: “…Let me emphasize that your nominations were not based on any personal or special relationship I have with you, but on relevant and specific criteria devised in The Gambia’s best interest.

“It is my view too that your willingness to serve the nation as Vice President, Government Ministers and Permanent Secretaries indicates that you understand and appreciate the responsibilities and expectations attached to occupying such positions within the context of a democratic government in a democratic State.”

By Lamin Njie

President Adama Barrow has launched a scorching attack on the former vice president of The Gambia Ousainou Darboe, saying he sacked the UDP leader in order to establish order in the country’s governance system.

President Barrow on Thursday chaired the swearing in of the new vice president of The Gambia, Dr Isatou Touray, four ministers and four permanent secretaries.

President Barrow on March 15 sacked Ousainou Darboe as vice president and elevated Health Minister Dr Isatou Touray to the post. The president in a major cabinet reshuffle also appointed four new ministers namely; Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh (Minister of Health), Amie Fabureh (Minister of Agriculture), Lamin Jobe (Minister of Trade) and Fatou Kinteh (Minister of Women Affairs, Children and Social Welfare).

Speaking at the swearing in event at State House on Thursday, President Barrow veiledly criticised Darboe and two sacked ministers saying their removal was to ‘establish order in our governance system.’

“As leaders, we ought to be considerate and compassionate, but we must be realistic and firm in ensuring that justice is done in the interest of the nation. It is this principle that has given rise to the Cabinet reshuffle resulting in the new appointments that have just been confirmed. The lesson is that, sometimes, difficult decisions have to be taken to set things right. This is necessary occasionally to establish order in our governance system,” the president said.

While working as The Gambia’s vice president, Ousainou Darboe was said to have been more interested in pushing his party’s agenda. Relations between the UDP leader and the president soured following his sacking of President Barrow’s close aides from his party.

According to President Barrow, “it is a betrayal of trust to belong to a group, yet openly or secretly oppose its ideals, objectives, values, agenda and what it stands for.”

“In other words, one cannot operate in Cabinet, or within a government system, and seek to undermine it in order to pursue any other interest,” the president said.

Darboe was sacked together with two UDP senior officials, Lamin Dibba and Amadou Sanneh. The two were serving as Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Trade respectively.

President Barrow speaking further said “the best citizens in a nation are the genuine patriots who serve selflessly and put the nation and the greater good before any selfish interest.”

“Such good citizens are not moved by greed or any undesirable pursuit,” he said.

The Gambia Press Union has said it has confirmed that the Office of the Director of Press and Public Relations (DPPR) at the Office of the President has required media practitioners to undergo screening at National Intelligence Agency – State Intelligence Services – as part of procedures for press accreditation to cover events at State House.

The secretary general of the union Saikou Jammeh in a statement on Wednesday said “the Union has briefly engaged the Office of the DPPR and has been assured that the measures are credible and are part of efforts to put in place a standard procedure for press accreditation.”

Jammeh said: “Notwithstanding, the GPU wishes to call on all media professionals to wait until the Union exhausts all consultations with a view to ensuring that the new measures do not compromise the freedoms and safety of media professionals. We will continue to engage the Office of the DPPR on this and other important matters.

“We commend the Office of the DPPR for the tremendous work that they are doing in creating an enabling environment for media professionals in the country.”

By Lamin Njie

President Adama Barrow has appointed Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh as the new minister of health of The Gambia.

The 47-year-old was appointed to the post on Wednesday, a statement from the presidency said.

According to the presidency statement signed by spokeswoman Amie Bojang Sissoho, President Barrow has also appointed Mrs Amie Fabureh as the new minister of agriculture.

“Both appointees are hardcore technocrats who have risen through the ranks over the years in their respective areas of profession,” the presidency said of Samateh and Fabureh.

Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh was the chief medical officer at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital.

Mrs Amie Fabureh, 49, was the director of Horticulture Technical Services.

By Lamin Njie

Journalists who applied for accreditation to cover events at the Office of the President will be required to undergo background checks with the State Intelligence Service starting Thursday, The Fatu Network has learnt.

A presidency official informed Gambian journalists on Wednesday the new security measure is necessary as coverage of the institution ‘gives you access to high places’.

Journalists should consider the move as due diligence on the part of the security services, the official added.

The secretary general of the Gambia Press Union reacting to the move told The Fatu Network the union was conducting a research on what the standard practice is.

“I will not be able to give you something informative right now but we might issue an alert,” Saikou Jammeh said.

By Lamin Njie

Former mayor of Kanifing Municipality Yankuba Colley has cast as disgraceful the way tourism minister Hamat Bah behaves in public.

The NRP leader is admired in some quarters for his trademark histrionics, but in a Gambian Talent Promotion exclusive, Colley said President Barrow should sack Bah as his behaviour is unacceptable in a country like The Gambia.

He said: “When they go to the TV, they are like… It’s so disgraceful sometimes. And he has one minister, that one is very disgraceful. Hamat Bah has done nothing to me but the way he behaves, the way he acts a minister doesn’t comport himself that way.

“This is a country, an honourable country. It’s a country that should be recognised internationally. There is a way that a minister should talk. You have to speak with humility. He should go. He’s not professional. Go to other countries and see the way their ministers comport themselves when they face the camera.”

By Lamin Njie

President Adama Barrow has surrounded himself with amateurs who do not know how a government is run, Yankuba Colley has said.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Gambian Talent Promotion on Tuesday, the immediate past mayor of Kanifing Municipality assessing President Barrow’s government said it was composed of flawed individuals.

Colley said: “I was saying this in my interviews. When Barrow was coming to power, he said he has never worked in government but he’s surrounded himself with people he thinks will help him deliver. But these people are not helping him.

“When the coalition took over, the mistake he first made was to surround himself with UDP people. And all these people are amateurs. They don’t know how it (government) works. That was the reason why people like Mamburay and Tangara came.”

By Lamin Njie

A former member of the Gambian army on Tuesday told the TRRC Lamin Colley lied regarding his testimony in the killing of Fafa Nyang.

Lamin Colley, a Class Two Warrant Officer in the Gambia Armed Forces last week testified on the 11 November 1994 massacre of soldiers accused of plotting a coup, where he admitted to shooting fellow soldier Fafa Nyang.

Colley said he shot Nyang by accident as he ran to him to help him.

But Modou Lamin Bah who claims to be a frontrow witness of the hideous event testifying before the commission on Tuesday rubbished the then medic-soldier’s evidence.

“It was an aimed shot. It was a deliberate one Because if it was an accidental shot, it would not have hit his target,” Bah said.

“There are procedures in firing. You must have to look through the foresight blade to the target. You have to align these two… AK47 is not like any other weapon.”

By Lamin Njie

Fabakary Tombong Jatta has dismissed reports that he received a car from President Adama Barrow.

Reports at the weekend emerged on social media that the interim leader of APRC received a car from the president.

But Jatta in a Gambian Talents Promotion exclusive on Tuesday said: “President Adama Barrow has not giving me anything. He has never thought of it. No one has ever in fact told me President Barrow said he will give you a car.

“The reason why all good people are running away is because of these types of lies. I heard Mark Janneh saying a lot of things that they gave me a car. He said when I was going out of government, I had nothing. That was surviving on APRC.

“He also said when Barrow went to Mauritania, Yahya Jammeh sent a delegation. These statements are so bad. The UDP should know that we are in the 21st century. We at APRC don’t have time for lying.”

By Lamin Njie

APRC interim leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta has said that President Adama Barrow is justified in his sacking of Ousainou Darboe and two other UDP leaders who were working in his government.

President Barrow on March 15 sacked Ousainou Darboe as the vice president of The Gambia. The president also terminated Lamin Dibba (Minister of Agriculture) and Amadou Sanneh (Minister of Trade).

Speaking in a exclusive interview with Gambian Talent Promotion on Tuesday, Jatta said UDP has been the bane of President Barrow.

He said: “Everyone knew that UDP ministers and President Barrow were at loggerheads. The president of the republic will not be able to take that. If the president sees that the effectiveness and the loyalty is not there, the president will sack you. Even if it’s me, I will sack you.

“UDP people were the people saying all the good things about President. Today they are the people saying he’s not good person. For us we have the right to dialogue with any political party. It depends on whether we agree or not. We are open to any political party to dialogue on the way forward for the country.

“What we have seen is that on the whole President Barrow’s problem is UDP. That’s how we see it. UDP were the people saying he’s good now they say he’s bad. So we think anything that was bad here, UDP was part of it.”

By Lamin Njie

The Janneh commission generated 77 million dalasis from assets it seized from former president Yahya Jammeh and sold off, the minister of justice Abubacarr Tambadou has said.

The Janneh commission is a 2017 investigation into the financial, assets and business dealings of former president Yahya Jammeh and during its 18-month work, the probe confiscated hundreds of assets ranging from cars to tractors to cattle belonging to the former president.

The commission’s officials had said the assets recovered will be sold off and proceeds paid to the treasury.

Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou told Gambian lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday the inquiry generated 77 million dalasis from its assets sale.

“In the course of its work, the commission was able to generate monies from its activities including 67,894,170 dalasis from the sale of 138 tractors and 458 vehicles (including scrap), 8,302,970 dalasis from the sale of 725 herd of cattle as well as bank accounts frozen and/or discovered by the commission and other properties discovered as a result of their work,” Tambadou said.

By Lamin Njie

The Minister of Justice Abubacarr Tambadou has said the Janneh Commission has exposed former President Yahya Jammeh’s financial delinquency.

Tambadou stated this while responding to questions from members of the national assembly on the Janneh Commission on Tuesday.

Tambadou said: “I am proud to report that largely because of their work, conducted in a professional manner with respect and adherence to due process, fairness and transparency, we have exposed the alarming scale of corruption and financial delinquency of the former president..

“We have shared information generated in the course of tracking and recovery of assets procured through illicit enrichment and we have registered some success in this endeavour; and we have seen a tightening of financial regulations by government departments and agencies to prevent corruption and financial leakages in the system etc.

The Janneh Commission was an investigation set up in 2017 by President Barrow to delve into the financial, assets and business dealings of former president Yahya Jammeh.

The inquiry which was led by legal mind Surahata Janneh finished its work in December 2018 but its report which is set to indict the former president is yet to be submitted to President Barrow.

By Lamin Njie

The total amount spent by the Janneh Commission from its inception in July 2017 to date is 50,951,261 dalasis, the Minister of Justice Abubacarr Tambadou has said.

The Janneh Commission was a President Adama Barrow-blessed investigation into the financial, assets and business dealings of former president Yahya Jammeh.

The probe during its 18 months work carried out a step-by-step inquiry into how the former dictator acquired his wealth. It wound up its work in December 2018 but it is yet to submit its report to President Barrow.

On Tuesday, the attorney general and minister of justice Abubacarr Tambadou told members of the national assembly the commission spent a staggering 50 million dalasis.

“This includes all the expense incurred in the course of their investigations including but not limited to honorarium paid to three commissioners and 58 staff working at the commission throughout this period, counsel’s fees, fuel, stationery, food, security, rentals etc,” Tambadou told lawmakers.

By State House Media

President Barrow has once again reiterated that the empowerment and development of young people occupies a special attention in the development blueprint of his government.

The President made the remarks while receiving in audience a visiting delegation from Young Men Christian Association- YMCA – Finland at the State House in Banjul on Monday,

“Youth development is a priority area for my government’s National Development Plan (2018-2021). My government places high premium on their development as future leaders of this country,” President Barrow said as he reacted to news that the Finnish government is collaborating with YMCA to support young people in the country.

He expressed optimism that their intervention will greatly complement the efforts of his government in attaining its development goals.

President Barrow thanked the YMCA Gambia for their support to The Gambia over the decades.

Officials from the YMCA- Gambia Chapter accompanied their Finnish counterparts to the presidency. During the closed door discussions, the group informed the President of the approval of €400, 000EUR by the Finish government towards supporting young people in The Gambia.

They held discussions around the organsation’s programmes in The Gambia, particularly in the areas capacity building and peace advocacy for the youths.

“We thanked the president for acknowledging the work of YMCA when he took office in 2017. We also informed him that our proposal to Finland government for a project for our young people has been approved,” said Mr. John C. Njie, the Executive Director, YMCA- Gambia, who led the delegation to State House.

The secured €400,000 is earmarked for young people in The Gambia with special focus on advocacy in peace building, skills development and entrepreneurship, especially for returnees.

“We are all overwhelmed with the returnees coming back… we need to help them reintegrate into society through skills building, providing start-up capital for entrepreneurs to enable them engage in the productive sector,” Mr. Njie told the President.