Momodou Gassama, the director of GiLMA, stated that they were never informed about a court order from May 2017 which placed responsibility for wildlife under their care. Despite this, he claimed they took it upon themselves to look after the animals.
Meanwhile, Mommodou Darboe, the director of Parks and Wildlife, asserted that GiLMA couldn’t take action without a court order. However, he also mentioned that they went ahead with selling, valuing, and tagging the livestock and responded to letters instructing them to manage the animals.
Darboe also pointed out a significant inconsistency regarding the number of cattle recorded. GiLMA reported having 638 cattle, while the Janneh Commission reported 724, and an auction list showed only 617. The reason for this discrepancy remains unclear.
Further, Gassama testified that there were only hyenas, zebras, and ostrich and not indicated cattle present at the time.
Additionally, regarding financial practices, Darboe highlighted that a dealer named Buba Korta, who did not hold a valid certificate, was involved in pricing the cattle. This raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest, as this is not the usual procedure.
Additionally, during Gassama’s testimony, he mentioned that soldiers collected visitor fees without proper oversight from their department. He clarified that they neither received any of those funds nor had authority over ownership of Kanilai.
When questioned about government follow-up, Darboe responded that GiLMA did not receive any responses from authorities, but continued to act inconsistently.
Gassama in his testimony mentioned that the only inquiry came from the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, which was interested in crocodile pools believed to contain human remains.
