The disclosure came after the committee tabled a confidential judiciary memo OHS-12, dated 30 November 2023 from the former Sheriff to the Judicial Secretary, copied to the Chief Justice.
The memo alleged that in August 2023, Director of Civil Litigation, D. Binga, contacted the Sheriff seeking details of the auctioned cattle proceeds, and later informed him that the funds had been transferred on the instructions of his superiors.
Counsel asked the Attorney General to clarify who gave that order.
“I strongly believe this was based on my instructions,” Jallow responded.
He explained that the issue began when Justice Tabally, a former magistrate colleague, reached out to him by phone after receiving SMS alerts from a dormant bank account believed to contain the proceeds from the Jammeh cattle auction; an account reportedly held at Trust Bank.
“Justice Tabally called my attention and said: ‘The cattle sale proceeds are still lodged in an account. I believe your people need to do something about that’,” Jallow recounted.
He said that upon returning to his office, he instructed Binga and the Solicitor General to verify the details with Tabally and ensure that, if the money truly came from the cattle sales, it should be moved to the appropriate government account.
“I remember giving those instructions,” he said.
The Attorney General’s testimony effectively confirmed the transfer referenced in the Sheriff’s memo though he insisted it was done in good faith to protect government funds, not to conceal them.
The committee accepted the clarification and agreed to treat earlier confusion over who sold the cattle: the Janneh Commission or the Sheriff’s Office as a non-issue, noting that Jallow had already clarified on record that he was relying on briefings from third parties at the time.
Earlier in the hearing, Jallow had faced questions about several properties seized from the former president and his associates.
He began with the Daniel Hagan Street property, numbers 78A and 78B, which appeared as Item 1 on both the technical and inter-ministerial committee reports. The Janneh Commission had recommended that it be sold by public auction, but the technical committee suggested it should be reserved for government use.
Referring to the Hansard of 21 September 2022, Jallow confirmed that the property was listed among those sold and told the committee: “It was sold as per the report I’m seeing here; it was not reserved.”
The hearing also revisited Gentula Nightclub, which the Commission recommended for auction but the technical committee proposed to allocate to the GTBoard.
According to Jallow, it was sold, though he reminded the committee that the decision was made before his tenure and that he could not speak to the reasoning.
The Attorney General pointed out that the property sales were grouped into three phases, all of which were approved before he took office, even though some payments continued into his period as minister.
“So, Phase one, Phase two and Phase three sales all happened before I became minister, I don’t know the rationale behind those decisions,” he stated.
Turning to Hamza Barracks, Jallow confirmed that the initial decision to sell the property had been reversed, saying he later understood that the government deemed it necessary to keep it for use.
On questions about Wardner Garden and Sifoe Garden, Jallow promised to provide updates once the consolidated report of all property phases including the incomplete Phase Four is finalised.
Counsel also drew attention to a statement Jallow made in Parliament suggesting that the sales were conducted by closed bids. Members sought clarification, particularly because the process had also been advertised online.
Jallow explained that “the website was for advertisement. People saw the properties online and made their offers in closed envelopes. That’s what we mean by closed bids. The offers were later opened in public.”
Counsel questioned him on another property, No. 26 Bokul Street, sparking further scrutiny.
Jallow had told Parliament that the initial purchaser withdrew due to financial constraints, but the receiver’s appendix showed the property was sold for D18 million, with a new owner listed.
“There’s a story behind that one, the initial most responsive bidder didn’t proceed with the purchase, so he was refunded, and the property was later sold to another bidder. My answer was accurate as at the time I gave it,” he said.
Throughout the hearing, Jallow emphasised that much of what he was being questioned on occurred before his appointment as Minister for Justice, and that many of his own statements were based on official briefings from the technical and inter-ministerial committees.
