The Civic Scribe: Articles & Poems

The Gambian people were promised justice—a reckoning for the brutal 22-year kleptocracy of former dictator Yahya Jammeh. Instead, they got a fire sale.

When Jammeh fled to Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after losing the election, a state investigation uncovered his theft of at least $362 million in public funds. The spoils were staggering: 281 properties, 458 luxury vehicles, 197 tractors, livestock herds, private jets, and shares in critical national assets. For a nation rebuilding democracy, recovering these stolen resources was essential. Yet today, as details of the government’s asset disposal scheme leak out, a troubling question emerges: Who truly benefited from this grand auction?

The High-Rollers and Strategic Buyers

The sales reveal a pattern of aggressive acquisitions by corporations and wealthy individuals. Consider the Royal Atlantic Hotel—a prime beachfront property. It sold for 344.65 million Gambian dalasi (GMD), a jaw-dropping 498% premium over its guide price. The buyer? Baaton Company Ltd., partnered with Dutch hotel giant Corendon. This purchase wasn’t just opportunistic; it was a bet on tourism’s future in a country where most citizens survive on less than $2 a day.

Similarly, institutional players like the state-owned Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC), Star Oil, and the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) pooled 551.25 million GMD to buy shares in Gam Petroleum—a 20% premium for control of a national energy pillar. Even the Central Bank joined, paying double the guide price for Futurelec, an IT firm. These entities justified premiums as “strategic,” but the optics are jarring: state bodies spending public funds to buy back assets stolen from the public.

The Suspicious Discounts and Insider Deals

Not all buyers paid top dollar. Jah Oil, a prominent Gambian conglomerate, scooped up construction equipment in Brikama for 7 million GMD—a 21% discount from the guide price. Mahadi Touray bought a property on Daniel Goddard Street for 1.9 million GMD (5% below value), while Alimatou Sallah secured a Paradise Estate home at a 14% markdown.

Meanwhile, repeat buyers like Serign Gai amassed a 69 million GMD portfolio of commercial properties. Hamidu Jah, linked to Jah Oil, paid 8 million GMD for the Jengbula nightclub—419% above its guide price. Why such wild variations? The government’s opaque process fuels suspicions that politically connected buyers exploited insider access.

The Shadowy Middlemen

Enter Alpha Kapital Advisory LP. This obscure firm, co-owned by accountant Alpha Amadou Barry, was handpicked by then–Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou in 2019 to manage the sales—without competitive bidding. Its contract granted a 10% commission on asset sales and 5% on shares, netting it at least 89 million GMD ($1.4 million). Tambadou denied ties to Barry, but the firm’s selection reeks of cronyism.

Tambadou’s own romantic ties deepened the scandal. While he chaired the ministerial committee overseeing sales, his future wife—Binta Sompo Ceesay—secured provisional rights to a 6.1-hectare beachfront plot for her company, MOAB Capital. Tourism Board staff alleged Tambadou pressured them to fast-track her application, and she received the lease without paying the mandatory $50,000 development levy. Parliamentary investigators later canceled the deal, calling it “a violation of procedures.”

The People’s Outrage

When activists demanded transparency, they faced batons and jail cells. In May 2025, youth-led group GALA (Gambians Against Looted Assets) organized peaceful protests. Police arrested 27 demonstrators and two journalists. The government’s subsequent release of a 10-page asset list only inflamed anger: cows sold for pennies, luxury vehicles missing entirely, and land sold at fractions of market value.

President Adama Barrow, initially defensive, now promises accountability. He convened an emergency cabinet meeting and endorsed parliamentary and audit office probes. “These assets belong to the people,” he declared. But Gambians are wary. Parliament is stacked with ruling-party loyalists, and past commissions have buried inconvenient truths.

The Unhealed Wound

The fire sale isn’t just a financial scandal—it’s a betrayal of The Gambia’s democratic awakening. Jammeh’s victims watched his torture chambers shutter, only to see his looted wealth distributed among elites. The message is corrosive: The gates changed guards, but the keys still open vaults for the privileged few.

True justice requires more than audits. It demands:

1. Full restitution: Redirect sale proceeds to healthcare, schools, and reparations for Jammeh’s victims.
2. International oversight: The UN and African Union should monitor investigations to ensure credibility.
3. Prosecutions: Charge officials who manipulated sales for personal gain.

The Gambia’s youth, who led the revolution, now chant: “We are the beginning of a new revolution.” Their fight isn’t over—it’s shifted from bullets to balance sheets. The world must ensure this chapter doesn’t end with old tyranny recycled as new corruption.