By Kebba AF Touray
The Chairman of Alpha Kapital, Mr. Alpha Barry, appeared before the Special Select Committee on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, to provide testimony on the sale and disposal of assets identified by the Janneh Commission as properties of former President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh.
Mr. Barry told the committee that properties in Banjul designated as Jammeh’s were initially valued by the Janneh Commission. He explained that Alpha Kapital, founded in 2017, provides financial advisory services, assists businesses with planning, and supports the disposal of assets.
During his testimony, he submitted several documents, including letters from the Gambia Tourism Board regarding provisional land offers in the Tourism Development Area, and letters of engagement as receiver and trustee dated June 2020 and June 2019, respectively.
When asked about communication with the Janneh Commission, Mr. Barry said, “I think I did interact with the Lead Counsel,” noting that the discussion concerned FTI Forensic, which he introduced to the commission.
Regarding fees as receiver, Mr. Barry confirmed that “all other charges to reasonable costs shall be deducted from the monies generated from the entire transaction income generated different from the 10 percent,” adding that operational expenses were part of these costs. On whether his appointment was advertised, he said, “No. It didn’t occur to me that it was advertised.”
Barry said he had previously conducted similar assignments both in the Gambia and abroad. On the first steps of the assignment, he said, “On my side was to get the requisite staff, with the quality and competent criteria to assist in the execution of the exercise. Another was to get the infrastructure in place and one of them was the website.”
He also acknowledged the support of public institutions. “We were assisted a lot by the office of the Sheriff in terms of identifying some of the assets, as well as personnel from the police,” he said, adding that the Lands Department and Attorney General’s Chambers also provided assistance with surveys, land rents, and lease cancellations.
Mr. Barry explained the modalities used in executing the assignment, including ministerial approval of assets for sale, drafting and advertising property sales in three local newspapers and online, and receiving bids through Futurelec, chosen for its strategic location. He added, “The Banjul properties were initially valued by the commission, so we did not do any valuation for Banjul, but for subsequent steps, we did valuation, and at the same time as we are doing the adverts… we also put the picture of the properties.”
He outlined the bidding process: analysis of bids, notification of the highest bidder, and direction for payment to a designated bank account to avoid cash handling. “We tried to avoid cash handling and we directed all the successful bidders to pay to a particular bank account, and you are issued receipt when the payment is fully made,” he said.
Mr. Barry is scheduled to continue his testimony on Thursday, September 11, 2025, focusing on the actual sales of assets.
