Benjamine Jallow ends testimony

Benjamine Jallow, the interim chargÈ d’affaire at the Gambian Embassy in France, ended his testimony in the criminal trial involving William Joof, a former Gambian ambassador to France, at the Banjul Magistrates Court yesterday.

Responding to questions posed by defence counsel Lamin Camara, Jallow said the only document he saw with regards to the termination of the services of Michel Coencas and Gerrard Nuss is a communication among different embassies authored by the accused and addressed to the UNESCO Headquarters.

”I have not seen the termination letters of Gerrard Nuss and Michel Coencas. All that I saw was an instruction given by Mr Joof to UNESCO, indicating that the two no longer are part of UNESCO’s permanent delegates to the Gambian Embassy”, he said.

According to the Gambian diplomat, he was posted at the Gambian Embassy in France on 15th September, 1998, noting that he knew the accused at a time when he was a permanent Secretary at the Department of State for Foreign Affairs.

Mr Jallow added that as head of the chancellery at the Gambian Embassy in France, he would have seen any document of duty waiver with regards to the said vehicle (Peugeot 607). “But I saw nothing to that effect,” he said.

He maintained that Gerrard Nuss paid €50,000 to Mr Joof for the post of The Gambia’s honourary consul to France, which was transferred to the private account of the accused.

William Joof charged with eight counts of criminal offences, ranging from official corruption to theft, contrary to Section 88 and Section 252 of the Criminal Code, Cap 10 Volume III Laws of The Gambia.