Surahata Janneh, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry has dismissed the application made by Amadou Samba, a Gambian business tycoon and close associate of the former president for the discharge of an interim order made against him.
Chairman Janneh in his ruling went through the arguments of both the applicant’s Lawyer Mary Samba and Commission Counsel Amie Bensouda on the application for the discharge of the interim order which he said lacks merit before rejecting it.
Janneh also dismissed the application made by the business tycoon’s attorney that they were not notified prior to the issuance of the order. He further ruled that the applicant is at liberty to apply to the commission to discharge or set aside the orders noting that the applicant shared the same order in clause A of the interim order as that of the families and close associates of the former President. Lawyer Samba has not put forward the determination of the orders.
Chairman Janneh cited the decrees of AFPRC/APRC military junta after taking power through a Coup d’état which lead to the establishment of a Commission of Enquiry to investigate the alleged rampant corruption of the Jawara regime. He said the first Act of the Commission of Enquiry in the Constitution was in 1903 under the colonial era. He added that the recent commission is in consistence with the same line.
According to the Chairman Janneh, Amadou Samba, Muhammed Bazzi and Fadi Mazegi are considered to be close associates of former president Yahya Jammeh, noting that over D200 million and $10,000,000 being government monies are missing which is currently under investigation.
Chairman Janneh who is also a doyen of The Gambia Bar Association further stated that except by the decision of the chairman, all hearings concerning the commission will be made public in the interest of the general public who he said are urged to provide information on assets belonging to close associates being it within or outside the jurisdictions and such information will be treated as confidential.
The Chairman of the Commission further highlighted that Amadou Samba’s application was not for the variation of the interim order but for their discharge, adding that he will determine as alleged by Mr Samba’s attorney as to whether the Commission acted ‘ultra vires’ (beyond one’s legal powers or authority).
Chairman Janneh also cited from the rule of the High Court order and Section 14 of the 1903 Commission Act to give weight to his ruling, noting that the commissioners are not obliged to inform anybody about their duties to hire a legal counsel. He said Mr Samba should have sought for a legal practitioner given that Jammeh was democratically removed from power through a ballot box and that the counsel argument for Mr Samba holds no water.
He said the commission did not see the immunity and liberty of Mr Samba as argued by his counsel in her application and therefore the application failed in its entirety and is therefore rejected.
Counsel Mary Samba at that point after the ruling applied to be availed with the copy of the ruling and record of proceedings but was asked to make her application through the secretariat. She also applied to be given the opportunity to respond to the allegation made by other witnesses against her client.
Meanwhile, the Commission will go for recession till 7 November, 2017 and Mr Samba is expected to continue with his evidence when the Commission resumes proceedings.
