Written by: Mama A. Touray
Justice Sheriff B. Tabally, former High Court Sheriff, has admitted to a discrepancy in the reported sale of cattle seized from former President Yahya Jammeh. He made the admission on Friday during his second appearance before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee investigating the sale and disposal of assets identified by the Janneh Commission.
The committee questioned Tabally over inconsistencies in figures found in one of his reports. A specific transaction involving a buyer named Cherno Jallow recorded 73 bulls under the description column but only 23 bulls under the quantity column. This prompted lawmakers to demand clarity on which number was accurate.
Kebba Lang Fofana, a committee member, highlighted the contradiction by explaining that if 73 bulls were sold to Cherno for D350,000, it meant each bull was sold at D4,383. However, if only 23 bulls were sold for D320,000, the price per bull would rise to D13,913. He added that if the committee were to accept 23 bulls as the accurate figure, the overall record would be off by only one bull. But if 73 were taken as correct, it would create a surplus of 23 bulls – raising serious doubts about the reliability of the documentation.
When pressed on which figure the committee should accept, Tabally said he had not averted his mind to the discrepancy earlier and admitted being confused about how the two figures came up. But Fofana insisted that both could not be right and referred Tabally to another entry in the report, where eight cows were sold to Babucarr Njie for D31,000, meaning each cow was sold at D3,875. In that case, he noted, the description and quantity matched. Tabally replied that the Cherno Jallow entry may have an inaccurate description, but he could not confirm whether it properly aligned with the quantity.
Fofana pointed out that in every other sale recorded in the report, the description and quantity matched. The only inconsistency was with the Cherno Jallow entry, and the committee needed a direct answer. When Tabally said he could not choose for the committee which number to accept, Fofana responded, “No, no – not believe. We don’t want to believe. We want the facts. Which one is accurate?” Tabally then replied, “the 23.”
Concluding the exchange, Fofana said, “Due to time, I will stop here, but it is my submission that we ask Mr. Tabally to go and bring an accurate report. This is not only incomplete, but it’s misleading.”
Pictured: Justice Sheriff B. Tabally
