23/07/2025
Over 2,800 heads of cattle went missing from Jammeh’s ranches in a year
By Awa Macalo
The last two witnesses before the National Assembly committee investigating Yahya Jammeh’s assets have provided relevant details about the livestock left behind by the former Gambian leader after years of conflicting information.
The directors of Parks and Wildlife, and Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency have both admitted their failures to implement a court order in the management of the animals.
The court order, issued in 2017, appointed the institutions to be responsible for both the cattle and the wildlife, including hyenas and zebras as the Janneh Commission investigations progressed.
Momodou Darboe, the director general at GLMA, told the committee on Tuesday that his agency could not take charge of the livestock due to missing a court order.
“We received a letter from the Ministry of Agriculture requesting us to take charge of former President Jammeh’s livestock, citing a court order. However, the letter did not contain a copy of the said order,” Darboe said.
He said GLMA responded by requesting “a copy of the court order, clarification on the modalities and the implementation conditions, and defined the logistical principles for transparency and accountability.”
Despite not receiving the court order, a follow-up letter from the Janneh Commission’s Lead Counsel dated 6 October 2017 asked GLMA to submit an interim report. Darboe said the agency responded on 11 October 2017.
“We cited our inability to comply with the court order due to the absence of Terms of Reference, logistical modalities and the actual court order,” he stated.
“The total number of cattle documented on 18 August 2016 was 3,456. A follow-up joint count with the Janneh Commission in December 2017 revealed only 638 cattle,” he disclosed.
That means 2,818 heads of cattle have disappeared from Jammeh’s ranches in 16 months. Based on the dates Mr Darboe mentioned, that decline must have started during Jammeh’s last six months in office.
However, the Sheriff’s Division ended up selling 724 heads of cattle amounting to D8,302,000.
The Republic investigations in March 2024 revealed that the livestock were sold at least D2.4 million below the valuation done by the Commission.
Darboe revealed the valuation was done by a known livestock dealer Buba Konta “presumably to pricing guidance, given the familiarity with livestock markets.”
Parks and Wildlife director, Momodou L. Kassama also said his department never took custody of the animals despite a court order.
Kassama said his office was unaware of the court order until recently and that no official communication had ever reached the department regarding the directive.
“I was made aware of the order on Wednesday when I met the investigation team. They told me an order had been issued, but unfortunately, we were never given this order, nor were we informed about it,” Kassama said.
“I checked our records at the department, and there was no mail from the Ministry or the Attorney General’s Chambers to that effect.”
Kassama clarified that the wildlife in Kanilai remain under the supervision of the military to date. In an attempt to protect the animals, his office sought a collaborative approach with the soldiers.
“We tried to find an amicable way of working with them so that we could look after the species there. Sometimes, when we have dead animals that need to be transported, we seek assistance from Araba Jammeh, the elder brother of former president Jammeh, who lives in the Kanilai Game Park,” he added.
Kassama said his department had not received any formal notification but said they had taken voluntary steps to intervene due to alarming reports.
“We saw many social media reports that the animals in Kanilai were starving and dying. As someone responsible for wildlife, that concerned me. Animals are like my own children.
If you hear your kids are dying somewhere, you’ll be concerned. That’s why we went to the game park, to see what was really happening. In our view, it was a smart move because I believe it helped save many of the animals,” he said.
He added that his department had partnered with the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust to train individuals in wildlife management. These individuals, initially volunteers during Jammeh’s time and referred to as "rangers," were later recruited as professional staff.
Mr. Kassama further disclosed that the department was aware of the types of wildlife present in Kanilai even before Jammeh’s departure.
These included zebras, elands, foreign crocodiles, ostriches, hyenas, and pythons. However, it was difficult to establish the exact number of animals due to restricted access at the time.
“After Jammeh left, we went to Kanilai to physically count the animals. We found 12 zebras, now increased to 16, two Dabi elands, three hyenas, two pythons, and hundreds of crocodiles,” he said.
There is no record so far of what happened to these species.
