The former ruling APRC party has criticised the published government White Paper on the Commission of Inquiry into the financial dealings of former president Yahya Jammeh and his close associates, describing it as “selective Justice”.

In a press conference on Wednesday at Talinding, the party’s interim leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta said:” the Commission of Inquiry made recommendations to the government. Government on its own decided that this one we are not going to accept and this one we are accepting. Then why do we have to set up commissions in the first place?”

Mr. Jatta described the government decision on the Commission of Inquiry’s report as ‘selective Justice’, adding that after the commission’s recommendation to the government that the government decided to punish some and left out others.

He blamed the government for rejecting the Commission’s recommendations on the chief of protocol at the presidency, Alagie Ousman Ceesay, who he said is accused by the Commission’s report to have been a signatory to some accounts of the former First Lady Zainab Jammeh, adding he was accused to have received over 2 million dalasi.

“And very little about Buba Demba, Bori Colley and about others and the government said they are not going to accept the report of the Commission, but accepted the report on Demba, Bori and others who seem to be APRC and they are not part of the government. Selective Justice openly,” he said.

According to him, any Commission established to investigate the transition is “illegal” adding that “anyone who violates the Constitution should be impeached”.

He said the Barrow government had already concluded its judgement on APRC and declared it guilty even before the establishment of the Commissions of Inquiry and Truth Commission respectively, adding that despite Barrow being the president of the Gambia, but that “he has not proven that by his actions.”

Mr. Jatta said APRC’s doubt has since been on the starting of the Commissions to that the “Barrow government has already passed judgement against former president Jammeh.

He said the two commissions – the Commission of Inquiry and the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission “were created to lend flesh to their already passed judgements.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba