In a warehouse on the sprawling province estate of Gambia's exiled sometime leader, Yahya Jammeh, silvery platters pile upward beside dusty crates of empty champagne bottles amongst labels commemorating his 1994 coup.
A bailiff picks through the boxes together with scribbles downward notes - the start of what the novel regime says is a search for tens of millions of dollars of looted assets, an investigation that Jammeh's supporters stimulate got dismissed equally a witch-hunt.
A U.S. official inwards Banjul said Washington was planning to aid together with regime staff say they are counting on World Bank assistance. The size of the Kanilai estate - only a fraction of Jammeh's holdings according to the regime official leading the tour - shows the scale of the chore ahead.
"We suspect nearly of the things were taken away earlier he left - the treasure, perchance weapons together with nearly of the vehicles," said the bailiff from Gambia's high court, Modou Moussa Ceesay, taking an inventory of Jammeh's possessions.
The sometime president - defendant past times opponents together with rights groups of widespread violations together with corruption - fled The Gambia inwards Jan equally regional forces descended on the uppercase Banjul to enforce the results of an election he lost.
He has non commented on the investigation from his novel base of operations inwards Equatorial Guinea. His yet rigid band of supporters left behind inwards the tiny West African province stimulate got called the plunder hunt a representative of victor's justice.
Tanks, Zebras, Camels
Kanilai was Jammeh's birthplace together with is forthwith his nearly elaborate estate - consummate amongst farm, mosque, tanks, multiple residences, jungle warfare preparation army camp together with vast soul safari common housing exotic parrots, zebras, hyenas together with camels.
Building materials prevarication side past times side to an unfinished novel palace, close a billboard of a grinning Jammeh embracing his family.
The judge ministry building squad inspected it all nether the gaze of a grouping of Jammeh's relatives together with supporters, all wearing the light-green T-shirts of his APRC party. One of them stuck upward his middle finger at the visiting delegation.
APRC head, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, afterwards told Reuters he had no noesis of whatever embezzlement of province funds or unusual assets owned past times Jammeh.
"These people only desire anything amongst whatever link to Jammeh together with that's non fair," he said, calling the investigation "witch-hunting".
New President Adama Barrow took component inwards Jan together with gear upward a chore strength to rail downward Jammeh's assets inwards May. "Most of the newspaper trails are available," Gambia's Solicitor General Cherno Marenah said.
But next those newspaper trails is proving fourth dimension consuming. Investigators exclusively made their kickoff catch to the heavily fortified estate this month.
Finance government minister Amadou Sanneh final calendar month said $100 1 thou one thousand - to a greater extent than than a 3rd of the annual budget - had been siphoned from province firms, inwards the riverside nation, nearly one-half of whose 1.8 1 thou one thousand people alive inwards poverty.
A listing of Jammeh assets temporarily seized past times the regime pending a courtroom lodge showed fourteen businesses inwards everything from media, insurance to farming.
Sanneh said the regime planned to sell 4 of Jammeh's presidential planes.
"Too Much for One Man”
Marenah said investigators were also looking into assets inwards Kingdom of Morocco together with the United States, where 1 U.S. official told Reuters Jammeh owned belongings inwards Potomac, Maryland, a wealthy suburb of Washington, D.C.
An official inwards the U.S. diplomatic mission inwards Banjul confirmed that they were collaborating amongst the Gambian regime on how to assist amongst the recovery efforts.
The World Bank would aid The Gambia through its Stolen Assets Recovery Programme, Marenah said, though the banking concern declined to comment.
Back at Kanilai, 1 time a modest hamlet close the edge amongst Senegal, soldiers Pb a tour of Jammeh's chief residences.
The screeches of 3 of his abandoned parrots echo within an empty ballroom hanging amongst crystal chandeliers.
One of the pictures hanging on the wall shows a immature Jammeh holding a staff about Gambians idea gave him mystical powers - he long said he had developed a undercover cure for AIDS.
A pile of paperwork including an old concern document from a visiting Royal Dutch Shell delegation sits close a bookshelf holding Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" together with sometime British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's memoir, "The Downing Street Years".
At the entrance to about other residence, soldiers swap jokes together with accept turns playing on a grand pianoforte together with shooting puddle side past times side to a imitation Christmas tree.
"It's also much for 1 man," mutters 1 of them equally the delegation tours the rooms.
Reuters