OPINION
By Momodou Ndow
The only things Jammeh came into power with were rata toy on both sides of his mouth, dala yu kamambay, and a stinky attitude. He took over under the pretense of eradicating corruption. But without a doubt, he’s turned out to be Gambia’s biggest thief. He once boasted that even his grandchildren would never be poor. He didn’t just steal, he raped and murdered countless innocent people too. He impregnated the society with evil, and now we are witnessing the offspring of that pregnancy in different forms.
The Republic’s investigation into his alleged financial wrongdoings found that he had stolen at least $362 million, lavishly spending it on expensive vehicles, aircraft, and real estate. But why stop at $362 million? Why not round it up to $400 million? Better yet, $500 million? How many billions of dalasis would that be? I’m not about to risk the few brain cells I’ve got left trying to calculate that—someone else can take on that math problem.
And Jammeh did it all while holding a Quran ‘ak Kuruss’, preaching Allah ‘teng ning teng’! He was revered by many—some practically worshipped him. When he poured out his Sam Sam Evian, people rushed to receive their “blessing.”
Before I go any further, I must thank The Republic for their masterpiece of an investigation. What an incredible piece of journalism. I can only imagine the time and resources that went into it. Though the report is lengthy and extremely detailed, I’ll focus on three key areas that stood out to me:
1. The release of the stolen assets by the court
2. The sale of the Fajara property
3. Alpha Kapital Advisory
1. The Release of the Stolen Assets
In 2018, High Court Judge Amina Saho-Ceesay froze some of Jammeh’s assets at the request of the Ministry of Justice, led by Baa Tambadou. Augustus Prom was appointed as the Receiver, but was later replaced—something Judge Saho-Ceesay called illegal. She argued that dismissing a court-appointed Receiver via “administrative procedures” is “unknown to law.”
Later, the Ministry applied to release plots of Jammeh’s land within the Tourism Development Area, which had been frozen by the High Court. Judge Saho-Ceesay denied the request. Then, while her court was on vacation, the Ministry filed the same application before vacation judge Hon. Justice Ebrima Jaiteh—who approved the release.
Justice Jaiteh later admitted his court was blindfolded into making that decision, calling it an “abuse of process.” He said, “They should have filed an appeal… not a fresh case before me. I was not aware of Amina’s judgment. It was an abuse of process.”
Tambadou countered that the application before Justice Jaiteh was a fresh one, with new details, and therefore not an abuse of process. But why not simply appeal the existing ruling instead of filing a fresh application with added “details”? Was this a deliberate workaround? Hmmm.
Justice Jaiteh essentially claims he was misled into unfreezing the stolen assets. But how could he, an active judge, be unaware of a landmark ruling that even those who are not in the legal profession were aware of? He should have been following the case closely. Hmmm.
2. The Sale of the Fajara Property
Once the assets were released, MOAB Capital—owned by Binta Ceesay, who is in a relationship with Baa Tambadou—was hired to work with Alpha Kapital to sell off Jammeh’s physical assets and shares. This alone raises massive red flags for conflict of interest. Unprofessional. Unethical. How convenient. Hmmm.
Among the assets sold was the Fajara property that was mortgaged to the Arab Gambia Islamic Bank Limited in December 2004 by Baboucarr Sompo Ceesay. After defaulting on the loan, the bank obtained a judgment of D8, 763, 254 against Baboucarr Sompo Ceesay (who happens to be Binta Ceesay’s ex-husband) and order for judicial sale of the property.
If the property was used as collateral for the loan and qualified for a D8,763,254 judgment, it would be reasonable to assume that the land was valued at least at that amount. So, how was Sompo Ceesay able to purchase the same land—foreclosed by the bank due to his loan default—for only D3 million? According to their agreement, Sompo was to include the names of the three children he shares with Binta Ceesay (the seller and his ex-wife) on the deed.
Sources say the property was jointly purchased by Sompo and Binta. In a July 2020 letter to Alpha Kapital, Binta stated she paid for the property and wanted out of the deal after Sompo failed to honor their agreement. He refused to put their children’s names on the deed.
Let’s be clear: Alpha Kapital—the company hired by Baa and his ministry—worked directly with MOAB Capital (owned by Baa’s love interest Binta) to dispose of a property that originally belonged to Sompo, Binta’s ex-husband. This is corruption at its finest.
Binta claim she paid for the land with the intent that their three children would be beneficiaries. But Sompo double-crossed her, kept the land, and as of April 29, still has the property in his name—not their children’s. The double cross! What’s built on deceit will always crumble under its own weight.
3. Alpha Kapital Advisory
Alpha Kapital was hired by Baa Tambadou and his Ministry of Justice to work with Binta Ceesay in disposing of Jammeh’s assets. They facilitated the sale of the Fajara property to her ex-husband, Sompo Ceesay—all done quietly, behind closed doors.
Assuming Alpha Kapital Advisory is a professional accounting firm, they should have known better. This is a blatant conflict of interest and may even be criminal. Alpha Kapital should’ve advised against it.
On top of it all, Alpha Kapital earned a 10% commission on all assets sold, and 5% on all shares liquidated. The Janneh Commission previously protested a similar 10% fee taken by Augustus Prom, arguing it should be reduced to 3%. So, who approved the 10% this time? The court—or Baa and his ministry?
At the end of the day, no matter how you slice it, there are glaring ethical violations in every one of these three key areas. So, how can Baa Tambadou claim he did nothing wrong? The potential conflicts of interest are clear and numerous—not to mention the other backdoor deals regarding the rest of Jammeh’s assets that may still be hidden. Unless Baa wants us to believe that this is the normal course of business, which I highly doubt.
