By Kebba AF Touray
Sergeant Adama Jagne, an officer of the Gambia Armed Forces attached to the Motor Transport Control (MTC), has testified before the National Assembly committee investigating the sale and disposal of assets identified by the Janneh Commission as belonging to former President Yahya Jammeh.
Appearing on Tuesday 30 September 2025, Sergeant Jagne told the committee that he was assigned to the MSA in Kotu to look after vehicles said to be owned by the former president.
Jagne, who joined the army in 2004 and graduated in 2005 before serving at Yundum Barracks, recounted how he was later deployed to Darfur in 2008 and returned in 2011. He was transferred to the State Guard in 2016 and subsequently asked to join the Janneh Commission’s work in Kotu.
He explained that the late Dawda Fadera, who was then Secretary General, had instructed him to go to Kotu to secure Jammeh’s assets. According to Jagne, Fadera told him he would inform the Inspector General of Police about the arrangement. Two days later, he said, Fadera confirmed he had spoken with the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) Commander in Kanifing, Commissioner Darboe, who deployed six PIU officers to assist him in safeguarding the vehicles.
Questioned by Counsel Lamin Dibba, Jagne confirmed his deployment was not formalised in writing but given through verbal communication. “I was given a command, simply because I was working on a command,” he said, explaining that the orders came from both the Secretary General and the Inspector General of Police.
When asked why he did not request a written deployment letter, Jagne replied that he had not done so. He further clarified that his responsibility was to control and protect the vehicles, as there was no security at the Kotu premises at the time.
Jagne testified that his superior at the MTC was one Saidybah, under whose instructions he worked. He added that while Commissioner Darboe and Saidybah were the senior officers responsible, he was the one attached to the Kotu site despite being the most junior in the office.
Pressed on whether there had been a formal handing over of the assets, Jagne said he was not aware of one. He noted that in military practice, deployment is often communicated through what is known as a “part one order”, a weekly posting list displayed on notice boards. He insisted that while he was tasked with securing the vehicles, he was not the senior officer in charge of the premises.
To be continued.
