By: The Fatu Network Editorial
Over the past week, The Fatu Network has been investigating allegations of fraud involving Musa Ousainou Yali Batchilly, the leader of the opposition Gambia Action Party (GAP), and one Muhammed Gaye. Our investigations show that the two have collected more than Two Million Dalasis (D2M) from different individuals whom they promised to take to Nicaragua.
Speaking to TFN, Babucarr Jagne, an alleged victim, stated that Batchilly collected a sum of five hundred and two thousand Dalasis (D500,200) from him, as per their agreement for him to travel from Banjul to Nicaragua.
According to Babucarr, a farmer, the money was paid by his father in Europe. When asked whom he paid the money to, Babucarr said, “I paid directly to Batchilly because he is my leader. I paid two hundred and fifty thousand Dalasis (250,000) for the visa process, one hundred and ninety thousand Dalasis (D190,000) for the air ticket, and another ninety thousand Dalasis (D90,000) to his (Batchilly’s) account,” he explained.
An Eco-Bank receipt obtained by this medium indicated a sum of ninety thousand dalasis (D90,000) was deposited into Musa Ousainou Yali Batchilly’s account on March 1st 2023.
“When I was in Istanbul, Batchilly promised to send us a continuation ticket to Nicaragua, and after paying one thousand one hundred dollars ($1,100.00), he stopped picking up our calls until we got deported after spending twenty-one days in Istanbul without getting a continuation ticket to Nicaragua,” he added.
To confirm the payment of the said amount in dollars, TFN requested a receipt, which Babucarr was able to provide. The receipt from a local travel agency indicated a payment of one thousand and one hundred dollars ($1,100.00), made by Musa Ousainou Yali Batchilly on July 24th 2023.
Furthermore, investigations revealed that Faye Biram and six others paid Muhammed Gaye a sum of Two Hundred and Forty Thousand Dalasis (D240,000) on September 23 2023. Gaye is said to be the agent working with Batchilly on the Banjul-Nicaragua travel deal.
Videos of individuals stranded at Istanbul airport, sleeping in uncomfortable places within the airport, who were part of Batchilly’s mission to Nicaragua, have been obtained by this medium. These individuals accused Mr. Batchilly of robbing them of their hard-earned money and called on the authorities to help, describing the act as “criminal.”
Faye Biram, a victim, also provided a receipt of Two Million and Three Hundred Dalasis (D2,300,000.00) paid for six people, each a sum of Six thousand US Dollars ($6000), who are part of the payment for Nicaragua on the 20th September 2023.
“Batchilly is a criminal. Since he took our money, he keeps moving from one apartment to another. We are very disappointed in him, and we must get our money back if he cannot take us,” she told this medium.
According to several people we have interacted with in gathering facts, only a few gave money to Batchilly directly, while hundreds of others were paying Muhammed Gaye, who is said to be the agent working with Batchilly on this deal.
“We paid our monies to Muhammed Gaye, but we only came to know Batchilly is the brain behind this when things started going wrong,” she said.
This medium has also received a series of complaints from different individuals accusing the Gambia Action Party leader of fraud, while others took the matter to social media platforms such as Tik-Tok.
However, Batchilly’s party (GAP) has earlier denied the claims that their leader has scammed people, saying the mission is to empower young people through travel.
“Batchilly is committed to empowering young people through travel, and this is why he came up with such an initiative to charter a flight to take young people to Nicaragua. However, the party also outlined several factors that led to the delay of the chartered flight, such as getting a landing permit from Gambia Civil Aviation Authority.”
