By Mamadou Dem
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Delo Baldeh of the Gambia Police Force and a member of the Commission’s investigating team, yesterday revealed to the ‘Janneh’ Commission that Kanilai Family Farms bought ‘Furelec’ building for D44, 000,000.
ASP Baldeh made this revelation while testifying in connection with assets belonging to the former president, Yahya Jammeh.
According to ASP Baldeh, the former president owned a property at 17A Hagan Street and it was sold for D2.5 million while his property at 78A and B of the same Street, were also sold to the former president but that there was an outstanding part of the properties which were not sold to him.
On the property at 26 Buckle Street, he said they did not have the title deed for the transfer but the property was owned by Mr. Ebrima A Samba, while the property at 13 Picton Street was owned by one Mr. Jones and was occupied by soldiers; that it was sold to the former president to the tune of D4, 000,000.
Further revealing the properties, he said the property at 15 Dobson Street was an empty land sold by the Ndow Family to the tune of D3,000,000 while the property at 11 Russell Street, was occupied by one Salieu Nyassi of KGI.
ASP Baldeh explained that the Banjul Aqua Culture Farm (Saro Garden), was owned by one Ebrima and Omar Jatta; that it measured 30.75 hectares, noting that he did not see any fish project in the said premises; that the whole place was developed with trees and three rooms were constructed for use as offices.
Still testifying, ASP Baldeh told the Commission that the former president owned a property at 73A Leman Street, but that he did not have the title deed; that they had the sketch plan, further noting that they did not know who sold it to the former president.
He added that another property at 64 Leman Street was sold to the former president to the tune of D3.4 million by the Cham Family; that it is a developed land and they had the title deed of the said property.
Testifying further, ASP Baldeh told the Commission that the former president bought Jeng’s Electrical Company to the tune of D900, 000 and it was a leased property.
On the property at 3 Hagan Street, he said it was occupied by one Fatoumata Jammeh and was sold by the High Court to Kanilai Family Farm; that they did not have the title deed. ASP Baldeh further told the Commission that he would verify whether there is a property at 75 Hagan Street owned by the former president.
Mr. Baldeh further testified that the property at 57A Hagan Street was occupied by Ya Lison Ndong and one Assan Joof; that Yasin Joof sold it for D900, 000 to Kanilai Family Farm, while the property at 78B Hagan Street was sold to the former president in 2005.
On the property at 49A Grant Street, ASP Baldeh said it belongs to KFF and they did not have any documents.
Baldeh further stated that there is another property at number 25 Fitzerald Street which is an undeveloped plot, noting that the property at 9 Leman Street was sold to the KFF for D1.2 million, and is not developed.
He told the Commission that the property at 18 Picton Street was bought by the former president but they did not have the title deeds.
On the Hamza Barracks property, formerly Palm Grove Hotel, ASP Baldeh disclosed that it was sold for £500, 000 by Edward Raphael Jansz and Carol Anne Jansz; that it has ever been occupied by soldiers since it was bought by the former president.
ASP Baldeh further testified that the property at 61 Hagan Street was owned by the children of Matarr Sarr and it was bought for D1.5 million, while the property at 60 Hagan Street was occupied by soldiers and owned by one Malick Mbaye; that it was bought for D1.5 million and he had a copy of the title deed.
He revealed that the property at 34 Wellington Street was owned by Sir Dawda Jawara, and was sold to the former president to the tune of $650,000; that this is an empty land, while the property at 2 Fitzerald Street was sold to the former president in 2010 for D2, 000,000 through the Principal Registrar of the High Court; that they have a copy of the title deed.
Baldeh told the Commission that the property at 72 Gloucester Street was acquired by Kanilai Family Farms and they had the sketch plan, while the property at 6 Independence Drive, was an empty plot and formerly owned by the Gambia Electrical Company. He said they were in possession of the sketch plan.
Dwelling on the property at 13 Grant Street, he said it was sold through one Raymond Ceesay for D21.5 million which was owned by Julia Ceesay; that there were 24 properties owned by the former president in Banjul, noting that there were other four properties discovered in Banjul as well.
At this juncture, documents relating to the properties of the former president in Banjul, were tendered and admitted as exhibits.
Further continuing his testimony, ASP Baldeh said former president Jammeh owned 38 properties in the KMC, namely Kotu Power Station Property leased by the then Minister of Lands; Kotu Point Property, which covers the space from the Kotu Police Station to Palma Rima Hotel; former Destiny’s Night Club which is still operating but subleased; Futurelec property sold to KFF to the tune of D44,000,000 by the former Chief Justice; a property from Djembe Hotel junction to Bakadaji Hotel which is 6.4 hectares; Old Kotu Quarry property which was bought in 2014 and is 19.7 hectares and fenced; a property leased to KFF in 2001 which is situated at Old Jeswang and covers Cape Point-Sting Corner junction measuring 103 hectares; a property at Mile 7 which is also leased and is 1.25 hectares; Fajara Water Tank property which was sold in 2009 and was also leased by the former Secretary of State, Ismaila Sambou and fenced; No. 72 Kairaba Avenue property which is a developed property sold by I.B. Jobe alias Jobe Dollar, but that the owners of the property are claiming that the property was illegally taken from them by the former president; Kairaba Avenue property where the bakery is and sold by the late Alhagie Marie Jagana; a property at 16 Kairaba Avenue opposite Alliance Francaise which was acquired from Edward Joiner; Fajara ‘M’ Section property which was sold by Gambia Baptist Mission in 2015 for D5,000,000; another Fajara ‘M’ Section property owned by one Sulayman Sowe; another Fajara ‘M’ Section property near the Standard Chartered House which is an empty land measuring 1800 square metres.
