By Arret Jatta
Alhaji Mamadi Kurang, a former executive secretary to the Janneh Commission of Inquiry into former president Jammeh’s assets appeared before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee, looking in the manner the assets were disposed of by the Commission and other entities.
In his testimony, Kurang confirmed that while some valuations such as those involving cattle were carried out by institutions named in official orders of the Commission, other assets were conducted by individuals with no clear mandate or traceable appointment process.
“For example, the person who valued a fleet of Indian-imported tractors was a retired director of a public workshop, Mr. Njie. He came from a recommendation,” Kurang told the parliamentary inquiry, though he could not confirm who initiated that recommendation. Counsel Lamin M Dibba of the parliamentary committee pressed Kurang on whether this selection process was normal or acceptable, given his central role as the Commission’s operations lead.
Kurang replied: “I don’t remember, It is possible.”
A further concern of Counsel Dibba was the lack of institutional oversight on landed properties.
In response Kurang claimed that while valuation panels sometimes included land officers, no formal mechanism ensured these experts were consistently involved or accountable.
“There’s a whole lot of experts coming to the Commission directly to the Lead Counsel (Amie Bensouda),” he said, describing an unstructured process where technical personnel floated in and out without proper records.
Kurang added that some orders governing asset valuations did not come from the courts or formal statutes but from internal interim decisions by the commissioners themselves.
Counsel Dibba further raised concern over how private individuals and not public institutions ended up overseeing the sale and valuation of government properties.
“Isn’t it strange that you, as the chief of operations, had no record or involvement in how some valuers came to appear,” he asked the witness.
Kurang acknowledged the anomaly but claimed operational gaps in his oversight. “There are things I had no hands in,” he said.
