Inquiry finds irregularities in 900 Gambian land allocations
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Gambiana
A Republic investigation into more than 900 public land allocations in The Gambia between 2017 and 2025 found alleged irregularities and favourable treatment for influential people. The outlet reports that land reserved for public use was transferred to private developers, leading among other things to eviction notices near Kotu.
An investigation by The Republic has found irregularities in more than 900 allocations of state-owned land in The Gambia between 2017 and 2025. It reports administrative failures, preferential treatment and allocations involving businesspeople, political financiers, former government officials and companies whose registration could not be verified, Gambiana reports.
The investigation says land initially reserved for public use was allocated to private developers. In Kotu, artisans and car dealers received eviction notices after plots were allocated to five developers, despite reported flood risks in the low-lying area.
Oversight of land transactions was also obstructed. Former Auditor General Modou Ceesay told a court that President Adama Barrow had summoned him several times over compliance audits of public land allocations. Dismissed in September 2025 after denouncing presidential interference, he secured the annulment of his dismissal by the Supreme Court in July 2026, but the land audit remained suspended in October 2026, according to The Republic.
The investigations focus in particular on land linked to businessman Muhammed Jah, NPP financier Hagie Baniko Sissoko and businessman Hadim Gai. They also concern Ace Communication Executive Limited, owned by former minister Fatim Badjie, whose leases on institutional land were expanded to allow mixed-use development. The revelations follow reports that Adama Barrow appears as the beneficiary of three public plots in The Gambia, Gambiana reports.
