The United Democratic Party (UDP) has launched a scathing attack on the Barrow administration, accusing it of deliberately hiding key documents from the Janneh Commission’s investigation into former President Yahya Jammeh’s stolen wealth. In a sharp statement released on Wednesday, the UDP says the government’s refusal to publish critical appendices and Volume 4 of the Commission’s report reeks of a cover-up.
At the centre of the controversy are multiple appendices referenced throughout the Commission’s published volumes—documents that include bank statements, asset sale records, and inventories of seized properties. The Ministry of Justice has yet to make any of these appendices available to the public.
“The government is clearly sitting on evidence,” the UDP said. “Appendix 1 alone includes bank statements from auction proceeds and detailed reports on the sale of vehicles and other assets. These are not minor attachments—they are central to understanding what really happened to Jammeh’s assets.”
The UDP directly challenged Minister of Information Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, calling his recent claim that the Commission did not submit asset sale reports “blatantly false.” The party pointed to multiple excerpts from the Commission’s own text that explicitly reference these missing documents, including financial details tied to over D100 million and nearly US$500,000 in recovered funds.
“If Dr. Ceesay truly believes the Commission submitted no such documents, then he is either grossly uninformed or wilfully lying to protect the administration,” the statement said.
The missing documents aren’t the only issue. The UDP accused the Barrow government of treating the Janneh Commission’s findings as private property rather than a public record. Volume 4 remains unpublished. All appendices are missing. Only four volumes were quietly uploaded to the Ministry of Justice website—after public outcry.
“This is not transparency. This is concealment,” the UDP said. “And Gambians have every right to suspect that something shady happened during the asset disposal process.”
The party further alleged that asset sales were carried out under suspicious circumstances, with luxury vehicles, livestock, and other properties reportedly sold at giveaway prices, often to politically connected individuals. Some sales reportedly happened while the Commission was still sitting—raising serious questions about interference and impropriety.
Adding to the criticism, President Barrow has previously admitted that he was unaware of some transactions, a confession the UDP says proves the administration failed to monitor the very task force it authorised.
In response, the party issued four firm demands:
- Immediate release of all Janneh Commission appendices and Volume 4.
- A truly independent audit of all asset sales—free from government influence.
- Prosecution of officials involved in shady or undervalued sales.
- A public apology from Dr. Ceesay for misleading the public.
The Janneh Commission was established to shine a light on two decades of corruption and abuse under Jammeh. Instead, the UDP argues, the Barrow administration has taken that light and turned it off.
“Instead of upholding transparency and justice, the Barrow government has chosen to protect itself. They’ve thrown the Janneh Commission under the bus to cover their own tracks,” the party said.
As frustration builds, calls are growing louder for the government to stop dodging accountability and release the full truth. Until then, the missing appendices remain a symbol of everything wrong with the government’s handling of Jammeh’s stolen assets.
