Jammeh loyalists decry witch hunt as Barrow begins chase of looted funds

Loyalists of former Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh are crying foul as the new government officially begins a search for property Jammeh allegedly looted.

President Adama Barrow, on Wednesday, inaugurated a 3-member commission of enquiry to look into the assets of his predecessor. According to Barrow, the move was ‘‘another step in our change agenda for good governance.’‘

But back in Kanilai, Jammeh’s hometown, where he had built an estate that had buildings, a mosque, a safari park and a military warfare training camp, loyalists are protesting over the enquiry and accusing the Barrow-led government of witch hunt.

Today, Swearing-in of a 3 member Commission of Enquiry into the assets of Ex-President is another step in our change agenda for good gov. pic.twitter.com/hmWQWd6q7I

— President Barrow (@BarrowPresident) July 13, 2017

Reuters quotes a member of his APRC party as saying, “These people just want anything with any link to Jammeh and that’s not fair,” Fabakary Tombong Jatta said, calling the investigation “witch-hunting”.

That view resonates with other loyalists in Kanilai and across the country. Members of his party have been following government officials and other people involved in assessing Jammeh’s estate as part of efforts aimed at retrieving state funds.

I have confidence in the Commission members to deliver with honesty and discipline. Role is to investigate mis- management of funds.

— President Barrow (@BarrowPresident) July 13, 2017

Jammeh who left the country after his over two-decade rule ended in January this year is currently in Equatorial Guinea. He has not commented on the situation back home since he left. The last that was seen of him was when pictures emerged of him working on a farm in his new country.

Jammeh lost elections to an opposition coalition in December last year. He accepted the loss to much admiration by political watchers before flipping on his word. Regional mediation failed but Guinean and Mauritanian leaders managed to get him to leave at the last minute – at a time that regional forces were ready to enter the country and oust him.