Tida Jaiteh, widow of the late Jarra West MP and influential former majority leader Baba Jobe, has filed a suit before the Court of Appeal challenging the adverse findings and recommendations made by the Janneh Commission, affecting her husband.
The Janneh Commission was set up to investigate the financial activities of the exiled former president Yahya Jammeh, his close associates and family members.
The appellant is seeking reliefs from the court of Appeal to set aside the adverse findings and recommendations made against her late husband by the commission.
Although the state, the respondent in this case was not represented in court when the case was mentioned, Justice Awa Bah, the president of the court adjourned the matter to July 25 for mentioning.
According to court documents, the appellant, Tida Jaiteh filed the appeal on the following grounds as communicated by her lawyer Antouman Gaye:
1, The proceedings of the commission and subsequent adverse findings and recommendations with regard to the real estate of her late husband were gravely irregular, null and void and of no effect.
2, The particulars of irregularity revealed that the proceedings were made against a non-party in respect of whom no proper legal steps were taken to regularise her status to ensure that she could appear before the commission, and that the adverse findings and recommendations made against her were erroneous.
3, There was evidence before the commission that Baba Kajali Jobe had died on 29 October 2011, prior to the setting up of the commission.
Mrs Jaiteh further contended that there was no evidence that either the Attorney General or the commission suo tomo had caused a limited grant to Baba Kajali Jobe’s estate to be issued out of the probate registry of the high court to any person against whom such adverse findings and recommendations can be legitimately made.
The appellant further challenged that the commission was incapable of making adverse findings against a dead person, consequently, the commission’s adverse findings and recommendations numbered 1 to 5 in the said adverse findings dated 29 March 2019, are equally null and void and of no effect.
Commission’s findings
The commission has made the following adverse finding against the appellant: Forfeiture of all the properties of Baba Jobe to the state by the order of the high court and that Baba Kajali Jobe has been found by the commission to have illegally taken from the central bank accounts atleast US$7,824,957.58 and 69,441,485 jointly and severally with former President Jammeh.
On the 23 properties taken from Baba Jobe directly from his family members, relatives and other third parties by ex-President Jammeh, the Commission also found that Baba Jobe’s properties were forfeited to the state by a high court order and since that order has not been set aside, it still subsists and therefore the properties belong to the state.
However the appellant’s lawyer argued that the former president does not have any rights over the properties of Baba Kajali Jobe and his seizure of his properties is unlawful and all deeds registered pursuant to the former president’s letter dated 27 December 2007 are also not valid.
On the 23 properties taken from Baba Jobe directly from his family members, relatives and other third parties by ex-President Jammeh, the Commission also found that Baba Jobe’s properties were forfeited to the state by a high court order and since that order has not been set aside, it still subsists and therefore the properties belong to the state.
However the appellant’s lawyer argued that the former president does not have any rights over the properties of Baba Kajali Jobe and his seizure of his properties is unlawful and all deeds registered pursuant to the former president’s letter dated 27 December 2007 are also not valid.
