President Adama Barrow’s Chief Protocol Officer, Alhagie Ousman Ceesay has appeared before the commission of inquiry probing into financial activities of the former President Yahya Jammeh and his close associates at the Djembe Beach Hotel, Kololi.
Ceesay who has served as Chief of Protocol Officer under the former President Yahya Jammeh and former First Lady Zeinab Jammeh was summoned in respect to several withdrawals of millions of dollars from the Central Bank of The Gambia.
President Barrow’s Chief of Protocol Officer said he became a deputy chief of protocol at the office of the former president in 2001 and later rose through the ranks to Chief of Protocol.
When asked whether the Office of the former First Lady was funded he implied that he does not know as he was not a signatory to any account. He added that during his term as a protocol officer under the former First Lady whenever they traveled to the United States he used to stayed in a hotel while the First Lady stays at their house in Potomac. He went further to say that he does not know whether there were Gambian staff at the resident of the former First Family in the United States.
Chief of Protocol Ceesay disclosed his travels with the former First Lady to Morocco where he usually stays in a hotel while she stays somewhere unknown to him. “ I have not been to any of her properties except the family home in Rabat”. He also claimed to have traveled with her to Guinea Conakry where they stayed in government quarters.
“I do not know how many brothers and sisters the former first lady has,” Chief Protocol Ceesay said.
He added:”I do not know how many properties the former First Lady has.”
Ceesay told the commission that he also served under the former President Yahya Jammeh as Chief of Protocol Officer and used to traveled with him on several occasions.
Commission Counsel Amie Bensouda questioned him about the several withdrawals of public funds from the Special Project Vision 2016 Account at the Central Bank of The Gambia. The monies withdrawn by him include $1 Million US Dollars, $700, 000 US Dollars, $700, 000 US Dollars, $500, 000 US Dollars and $300, 000 US Dollars respectively. He was asked about the purpose of these transactions which he claimed he does not know about.
“I received the monies and took them to the former President,” Ceesay alleged. ”
You are a very senior government official ‘I don’t know’ does not sound like a good answer,” Counsel Bensouda told him.
He shrugged his shoulders and was asked to reflect on the questions to provide facts to the commission in his next appearance. He confirmed physically handing bags of money to the office of the former president. He said he does not know whether the former president has containers where he kept monies at the State House.
Chief Protocol Ceesay said he would not know whether the former president used to travel with cash as that was his own personal affairs that does not fall under his purview.
“Does your job description allows you to withdraw monies for him from the public funds at the Central Bank,” Counsel Bensouda asked him.
Ceesay replied that withdrawal of money for the former president from public funds at the Central Bank was part of his job description. He was asked to provide his job description letter to the commission in his next appearance. He was also asked to list names of family members and orderlies of the former president.
He mentioned the names of Ansumana Jammeh, Jimbe Jammeh, Awa Jammeh, Isatou Jammeh and Ndey Jammeh among others as family members of the former president.
The orderlies he mentioned Yusupha Sanneh, Jerreh Manneh, Abdoulie Bojang and Ismaila Badjie.
Meanwhile, he confirmed that he was serving the former First Lady before she left the country. He was asked to write statements to indicate the former president’s assets and his travels with him. The information is due during his next appearance.
