Abubacarr M. Tambadou, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has justified his decision of authorizing the sale of properties owned by Muhammad Bazzi, a close associate of former President Yahya Jammeh, to local consultant Hamidou Jah for less than their official value.
Mr. Tambadou made an appearance before the Special Select Committee of the National Assembly, which is looking into how Jammeh and his cronies assets were disposed of. Alpha Barry, the receiver of Jammeh’s assets, testified during the session that Mr. Jah had revealed that he was in possession of cars and equipment connected to Bazzi’s NAWEC power plant project in Brikama. Counsel Aji Saine Kah cited this testimony.
The committee subsequently found that the assets were worth considerably more than the 8.9 million dalasis that Mr. Barry said they were worth. In the end, Mr. Jah purchased the properties, which included over 50 cars and other equipment, for 7 million dalasis, more than a million less than the appraisal.
Although he did not remember every detail of the case, Mr. Tambadou told lawmakers he trusted Mr. Barry’s version of events.
“I have no reason to doubt Mr. Barry’s account. The reason I say this is because I know that Mr. Barry will not make a false statement on that. So in spite of my lack of remembrance, I have no reason to doubt his accounts. I still don’t recall because, like I said, I don’t want to sound dismissive of this process, but I don’t recall this, but I don’t doubt his recall. Let’s say I was informed about these assets,” he said.
The witness was informed by Counsel Kah that Hamidou Jah eventually purchased the assets, which included over fifty automobiles and other pieces of equipment, for seven million dalasis, more than a million dalasis less than their assessed worth.
Tambadou responded by confirming that he had granted Barry permission to move on, citing the pressing necessity to finish the Brikama power plant project as the reason.
He stated that selling these assets to a third party would be illogical because Mr. Jah would then need to buy new equipment in order to carry out the project.
Additionally, he claims that the transaction prevented any delays in the power plant’s construction.
“It would make sense to sell these assets to Mr. Jah so that he can continue with the project. Whether it was one million more or less, I guess they negotiated, I can live with that,” He Said.
He went on to say that the decision was appropriate given the situation, regardless of whether the final price was “one million more or less.”
Mr. Tambadou acknowledged that he granted Mr. Barry the power to negotiate and complete the transaction. “I granted him the right to negotiate a sale. In light of the situation, I believe it was acceptable for him to sell it for a million dollars less,” he said.
When asked why Mr. Hamidou Jah kept the assets hidden before revealing them to the receiver, Tambadou responded that he did not think it was out of the ordinary, pointing to the common practice of hiding holdings connected to former President Yahya Jammeh.
“No, Counsel, it did not occur to me at the time because I knew that, with time, there were going to be more revelations of other properties that belong to former President Jammeh. So it was not something that was totally shocking to me,” he said.
“No, not at all, not in the context of the other things that we have to do at that time,” Mr. Tambadou testified when asked if the Ministry of Justice thought about looking into the case further.
