"Partizani Club had zero interest in the Ministry of Defense"/ Former minister's testimony in the GJKKO is revealed

2026-07-06 11:53:00, Aktualitet CNA

"Partizani Club had zero interest in the Ministry of Defense"/ Former

Former Minister of Defense, Gazmend Oketa, appeared today at the Special Court, as a witness in the "Partizani" case. Meanwhile, parts of the former minister's testimony before the black squads have also been revealed.

He stated during his speech that during the time he was Minister of Defense, the Partizani club had zero interest in the Ministry of Defense and that it was administered by private individuals.

Oketa stated that the club was not a special place for the Ministry because it could not be used by the institution.

Among other things, he added that this is the first time this issue has come to his office, as a practice that the property belonged to owners with regular documents and payment made.

Excerpt from the testimony:

SPAK : When were you Minister of Defense and what functions did you have?

Oketa: I was Deputy Prime Minister, then I took on the role of Minister of Defense. From 2009 to 2012 I was a Member of Parliament.

SPAK: What was the Partizani Club in relation to the Ministry of Defense?

Oketa: In my memory, the Partizani Club had zero interest in the Ministry of Defense. I don't remember it having any special interest. To my knowledge, it was administered by private individuals. In almost none of the discussions or meetings, I don't remember there being a voice for this club to have a special place in the Ministry of Defense.

SPAK: When you were Minister of Defense, did you start implementing the government's VKM for the club?

Oketa: I was the Minister of Defense and not the Minister of Sports. There was no special place for us, because it was not a place that could be used by the Ministry of Defense. The Partizani Club, in my memory, was a private club. I did not even consider it as a cultural institution at all, it is not the building that makes it, but the work.

SPAK: Were you interested in the property, given that it was under your control?

Oketa: For the first time on my desk, this issue came to my office as a matter of practice, since that property belonged to the owners. The practice was complete and they had also made the payment. I had no reason to keep that property in dependency.

Even today, if you look at the Ministry of Defense website, you have a sector that talks about properties and still today we do not have an inventory of properties. There were military personnel who opposed it, since the response had come from the Council of Ministers, then I gave the directive to follow all legal procedures in force, as long as the owners had state documents regarding this issue. I emphasize once again, there was no interest for the Ministry of Defense.

SPAK: Did you have representatives from the ministry when the assessment was conducted?

Oketa: I don't remember authorizing any military personnel regarding this matter. It's been 18 years since then, but if you have any documents with my signature, I'm ready to be your god.

The Ministry of Defense had 12 thousand civilian and military personnel. If you claim that the minister should take care of everything, then the staff should go home. I'm going to go into those policies that I signed for many delegations of powers, you can see them in the documents.

SPAK: The order you signed to deliver to the support command, are you familiar with any document?

Oketa: Every person who had the duty to follow this practice has signed and in the end has come to me. After 1990, many properties of the Ministry of Defense turned out to be redundant and many properties are excluded from the distribution plan because the army does not need them. In this case too, the same practice has been followed. It is not the only property that has been returned. Because when the property is excluded from the distribution plan, the state uses it for its own interests if it has no owners. /CNA