By Sulayman Waan
Hon. Musa Amul Nyassi, National Assembly Member (NAM) for Foni Kansala, who doubles as Spokesperson for the erstwhile ruling Alliance for Patriotic, Re-orientation and Construction (APRC), has called on the Adama Barrow-led Government to revise the decision of confiscating assets of former President Yahya Jammeh and his close business partners, describing the confiscation as “illegal”.
Following recommendations of the Janneh Commission of Inquiry that probed into the financial dealings of Jammeh and people believed to be his close associates, the Gambia Government had confiscated numerous assets belonging to Jammeh such as cattle, vehicles, homes, plots of lands, among other things.
“My Interim party leader has engaged President Barrow for so many times. I just want to remind him (President Barrow) that he needs to revise the Government’s decision to confiscating assets of former President Jammeh and others,” the Jammeh-era Minister of Local Government and Lands and now lawmaker, told Mansa Banko Online, at the National Assembly Chambers in Banjul.
Hon. Nyassi faulted the manner in which the current Government handles the matter, stressing “the Commission of Inquiry is not a court of law. They cannot convict him (Jammeh)”.
According to the former minister, there is no clause in the 1997 Constitution that empowers the Commission of Inquiry to decide the “guilt or innocence” of a person, arguing that guilt could only be determined by a court of law.
Nyassi opined: “All the recommendations of the Commission are mere allegation against former President Jammeh and others. They were not given chance to prove themselves right.
“Government should have given advance notice to former President Jammeh and all those who were recommended by the Janneh Commission. They should have been given notice, but that has not happened in this country.” He indicated that had government given advance notice to the alleged culprits, they would have made a decision to either challenge the Commission’s recommendations in a court of law, or accept the recommendations.
In the views of the APRC NAM for Kansala, the Barrow government was biased in victimizing people in accordance with the Janneh Commission’s recommendations.
Hon. Nyassi reasoned that some people had appeared before the Janneh Commission on numerous occasions but the government hasn’t done anything to them, while others are victimized.
Hear APRC’s Nyassi: “Sometimes you don’t have to be surprised if you follow the history of those who were victimized. They were once in Government; and if you follow the history when they were in Government, one will not be surprised.
“You will know automatically it was a witch-hunt. The report was made just to victimize former President Jammeh and those people.”
The lawmaker also accused the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lawyer Abubacarr (Ba) Tambadou of misleading the public in a presser, by saying former President Jammeh was involved in corruption. Nyassi maintained the then Justice Minister did not follow the due process, stressing he should have advised the executive to take the matter to a court of law before saying former President Jammeh was involved in corruption.
