OPINION
Dear Mr. President,
I write to you not as a partisan, nor as a supporter of any political figure past or present, but as a concerned citizen who still believes in the promise of justice, transparency, and accountability in our beloved country.
For years, the call for transparency in the disposal of the assets of former President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh has echoed across The Gambia. The people demanded answers. Youth were arrested and detained for asking legitimate questions. Yet, in the face of adversity and silence, the demand for truth never waned. With the recent release of the list detailing the buyers, properties, and sale amounts of those seized assets, we finally glimpse what has been long hidden. However, what this list has exposed is deeply troubling.
Many of the concerns were raised by opposition parties, most notably the former President’s party, the APRC, and even some members of the National Assembly. These voices, once dismissed as politically motivated or conspiratorial, have long claimed that some of the former president’s properties and state-owned assets were sold off far below market value to individuals closely tied to those in positions of power, friends, relatives, and associates. These accusations date back to the inception of the Janneh Commission in 2018. And now, with tangible figures before us, we can no longer afford to ignore them.
Mr. President, you established and swore in that commission. You gave it a mandate. You
promised the Gambian people a transparent and accountable process. And yet, what we see today is the undermining of that promise. The findings reveal acts of nepotism, corruption, and potential financial fraud, all carried out in the name of justice, but ultimately betraying it. If the commission has failed in its sacred duty and allowed itself to become a tool for vendettas or personal enrichment, then you, as Head of State, have a moral and constitutional duty to act. You must set up an independent and impartial investigative body to probe the workings of the Janneh Commission. Let there be no fear, no favouritism, and no further delay.
Mr. President, please consider the poor farmers of Kartong, the struggling families in Basse, the communities across our country who were deprived of vital farming equipment and state resources simply because those assets were associated with a former regime. These were tools meant to empower rural livelihoods, not bargaining chips for political cleansing.
You once told the people that the former President left the nation’s coffers empty. But how then can we reconcile this with the millions of dalasis now seen in the disposal lists? Tractors, buildings, and vehicles that could have continued serving the public well were stripped away and sold at giveaway prices. Emotion, not policy, guided decisions. In the process, we ignored the rule of law and sacrificed national interest on the altar of political retribution. It is not enough to say, “It is done.” It is time to correct what has gone wrong.
Mr. President, this is your moment of reckoning. History has placed this chapter in your hands. You can choose to turn the page towards justice, transparency, and truth, or allow your legacy to be tainted by silence and complicity.
You may not have orchestrated the actions of the Commission, but you appointed it. And now, you are duty-bound to ensure that their actions are reviewed, and where misconduct is found, held accountable.
You are not doing this for Jammeh. You are not doing this for APRC. You are doing it for the
Gambian people, for the farmers, the youth, the mothers, and the taxpayers who deserve to know how their resources were managed and why. The law must be for all. Not for some. Justice must be blind. Not selective.
Let this be the beginning of a new chapter in The Gambia’s journey toward true democracy and good governance. Let history remember you not for how the past was punished, but for how the future was protected.
With hope and determination,
(A Concerned Citizen – Savage)
