Civil Society Groups Demand Accountability in Jammeh Asset Management
Civil society organizations in The Gambia are pressing for a comprehensive forensic audit of all assets recovered from former President Yahya Jammeh, citing concerns that the state may have lost significant revenue through undervaluation, irregular sales, and weak oversight. The demand comes in a position paper developed after a two-day engagement convened by Gambia Participates in April 2026.
The groups are calling for a full review of every asset recovered, managed, allocated, or sold following the findings of the Janneh Commission. They want the audit to include the publication and verification of asset inventories, valuation reports, disposal records, beneficiaries, and revenues generated from sales.
According to the position paper, where losses to the state are established, appropriate recovery measures must be pursued to protect public resources and restore confidence in the management of assets seized from the former president.
Parliamentary Findings Raise Red Flags
The civil society push follows an investigation by the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee, which examined the disposal of Jammeh-linked assets. The committee identified problems such as irregular valuation practices, non-transparent disposal procedures, preferential transactions, and inadequate documentation surrounding some sales.
One notable case highlighted in reporting on the parliamentary findings involved five aircraft reportedly valued at up to $2.228 million but sold for $740,000. That disparity has raised serious questions about whether the state received fair value for the assets.
Civil society organizations argue that such discrepancies warrant a thorough forensic examination of the processes used to value and dispose of recovered property. They say the issue extends beyond isolated transactions and points to broader weaknesses in the management of recovered public assets, including incomplete records, weak financial controls, inadequate reconciliation of recovered funds, and insufficient institutional oversight.
Demands for a National Asset Register and Oversight Authority
The groups are also demanding the creation of a verified national register listing all assets recovered from Jammeh, their current status, ownership arrangements, disposal outcomes, and revenues realized. In addition, they want the government to establish a centralized and professionally managed asset recovery and management authority to prevent similar governance failures in future recovery exercises.
According to civil society, accountability should not stop at identifying irregularities. Where investigations establish financial losses or wrongdoing, the organizations say administrative, civil, or criminal action should be pursued against those responsible, depending on the evidence.
They warn that failing to recover public funds lost through irregular asset disposal could further erode public confidence in the country’s accountability institutions.
A Test of Public Trust
The controversy over the management of Jammeh’s recovered assets has become more than a question of what happened to property seized from a former president. Civil society groups see it as a major test of whether The Gambia can effectively protect public resources, enforce accountability, and ensure that assets recovered in the public interest are managed transparently and for the benefit of the nation.
Source: Civil Society Demands Forensic Audit of All Jammeh Assets, Recovery of State Losses