Banjul, The Gambia – The Mayors of Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) and Brikama Area Council (BAC) have publicly denied receiving any tractors from the assets forfeited by former President Yahya Jammeh, amid mounting public interest following the partial release of an official list detailing the alleged beneficiaries of Jammeh’s seized properties.

Kanifing Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda and BAC Chairman Yankuba Darboe issued separate statements to clarify their councils’ positions after their names appeared linked to items in the government’s recent asset disclosure.

Mayor Bensouda explained that although he had previously requested government support for tractors to bolster waste management efforts under the Mbalit Project in 2018, KMC never received any such machinery from state authorities.

“There is no record or recollection of any such tractors being delivered or purchased for KMC,” he said. The mayor added that the municipality currently operates with only two old tractors inherited from the previous administration, one of which is no longer operational.

The bulk of KMC’s waste collection is now handled by a fleet of 30 modern Mbalit vehicles acquired by the council itself.

Chairman Yankuba Darboe of BAC echoed a similar stance, dismissing claims that his council received eight tractors. “This is entirely new to me,” Darboe said. “No one within BAC can confirm the existence of such an allocation.” He emphasized that his administration inherited no tractors and maintained that BAC is committed to transparency and accountability.

The two local government heads made their remarks following growing public scrutiny triggered by the government’s partial disclosure of Yahya Jammeh’s forfeited assets, which were seized after the former president was found to have misappropriated public funds and abused his authority during his 22-year rule.

In 2019, a government-commissioned Janneh Commission revealed extensive corruption under Jammeh, leading to the seizure of properties, vehicles, and agricultural equipment, including tractors.

Further distancing herself from the controversy, Banjul Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe also issued a clarification. In a statement on Saturday evening, she said the Banjul City Council was never allocated tractors from the seized assets.

On the contrary, she revealed that she paid D300,000 for three tractors, but not a single one was delivered to her office by the government.

Mayor Lowe is now asking that the money paid for the tractors by the Banjul City Council be refunded to her office.

These denials come at a time when citizens are demanding clarity and accountability regarding the fate of the vast wealth and property confiscated from the former president. The lack of transparency surrounding the redistribution of Jammeh’s forfeited assets has sparked concerns about whether the state is adequately managing and accounting for the recovered items.

As public pressure mounts, civil society groups and anti-corruption advocates are calling on the government to fully disclose the list of beneficiaries, the process through which the assets were reallocated or sold, and the criteria used to determine such decisions.

The Ministry of Justice and other relevant institutions have yet to issue comprehensive responses to the growing demand for transparency.

With local government officials denying involvement in the redistribution, the controversy underscores the lingering challenges in The Gambia’s transitional justice efforts and public trust in governance.